The mute swan is 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.
Mute swan
Today in History
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Oh, the places you’ll go
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Bathing huts in Skåne County, Sweden
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Summer solstice
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Summer huts in winter
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Village of Saranac Lake, New York
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Autumn in Central Park, New York
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Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
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A walk among the giants
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Snow aglow in central Japan
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Rocky mountain pi
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Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England
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Happy Bee Day to you
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Time to count some birds
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Anniversary of the British Museum
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You won’t see this on Mulberry Street
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Groundhog Day
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Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington
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International Lighthouse Weekend
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Tufa formations in Mono Lake, California
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Alpine marmots at Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
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A leafy seadragon in the waters off Wool Bay, Australia
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Iceland for International Rock Day
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Wild and beautiful Alaska
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World Wildlife Day
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Happy Canada Day!
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Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland
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National Audubon Society s Christmas Bird Count
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National Hummingbird Day
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Vote!
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Commemorating peace in Antarctica
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