We knock in jest, and it is opened in earnest.
More German Proverbs:
Piety, prudence, wit, and civility, are the elements of true nobility.German
He who would prosper in peace, must suffer in silence.
German
He who puts his nose in a turd does not know what he is smelling.
German
Many hands make quick work.
German
One man is another's devil.
German
There is nothing for which the boors pray so much to God as that the horses of the squirearchy may not die, for otherwise they would ride the boors with spurs.
German