荷兰瓦尔肯霍斯特自然保护区
疣鼻天鹅,荷兰瓦尔肯霍斯特自然保护区 (© David Pattyn/Minden Pictures)
不再是丑小鸭了(An ugly duckling no more)
无声的天鹅已经成为美丽和优雅的象征,这在很大程度上要归功于受人喜爱的童话《丑小鸭》(The Ugly Duckling),讲述一只笨拙难看的小鸭长大后发现自己其实是一只天鹅。这个谚语故事经常被用作转变和美的相对本质的教训。看一眼这只天鹅,在荷兰的一个自然保护区里,它拿着一根羽毛,很容易就能看出“优雅如天鹅”这个成语是如何产生的。
原文:
The mute swan has become a symbol of beauty and elegance, thanks in no small part to the beloved fairy tale ‘The Ugly Duckling,’ about an awkward and unsightly duckling who upon growing up discovers he is actually a swan. The proverbial story is often used as a lesson in transformation and the relative nature of beauty. One glance at this swan, seen here holding a feather in a nature preserve in the Netherlands, and it's easy to see how the idiom, ‘graceful as a swan‘ came about.
《© David Pattyn/Minden Pictures》