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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International Jazz Day
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The Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Italy
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Mount Segla, Senja Island, Norway
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Terraced rice fields, Yuanyang County, China
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Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
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Meet the slowest flirt in the animal world
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Notes from an underground lake
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A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
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Arctic fox in Norway
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Nursing the world to health
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Hispanic Heritage Month
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Milky Way over Zabriskie Point, California
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Belgium celebrates its independence
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It’s Art Deco Weekend in Miami
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Are you older than this lake?
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Who s hiding in the kelp?
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Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona
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You ve never seen anything like this
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Glenfinnan Viaduct
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Gentoo penguins in Antarctica
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Mountains fit for a queen
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Happy Thanksgiving!
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Life in the slow lane
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Spring blooms in the Netherlands
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Beaver achievers
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Adorably evolutionary sea sheep
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A yearly sign that spring has sprung
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Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Dolomites, Italy
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First Cliff Walk