''Who sues for a cow''

A device often used in the 17th century to expose abuses and ridicule people was to present men and women as animals. There are many allegorical prints of this kind from that period, however, allegorical paintings are less common. There are twenty known works by Saftleven. A couple stands in front of the lawyer's table. The lawyer is depicted as an owl, the woman as a bird, the man as a pig and next to him on the ground is their child, a frog. The husband is listening politely to what the lawyer has to say and the woman already has a gold coin in her hand ready to pay him. Behind them the next couple is waiting their turn.One member of this couple, portrayed as a bird-like figure, is pointing to something on a piece of paper. The other member, portrayed as a rather silly dog, is watching him. The dog is holding a pouch of gold in its hand which will soon be a lot lighter. In this work Cornelis Saftleven ridicules farmers who allow themselves to be so easily lured into taking legal action by money-grubbing lawyers. Behind the lawyer hangs the text: 'Die wil regten om een koe, die blijft vrij tuys en brengt er nog een toe.' Freely translated: taking legal action often costs you more money than the disputed sum you are fighting to regain.