海外文化:英美民俗 关于鸟的迷信:颧, 燕子, 天鹅

【英文原文】

Stork An old belief is that the stork is a sign of good luck, because it foretells the birth of a child. Parents often explain the mystery of birth to their young children by saying that they were brought by the stork.

Swallow It is considered a sign of good luck if a swallow builds its nest under the eaves of one's house. Dryden says in his poem, "Swallows are unlucky birds to kill."

Swan Stories say that before a swan dies, it sings beautiful songs. Many great ancient writers, including Plato, Aristotle, Euripides, Cicero, Seneca and others had this false belief. In Othello, Emilia, just before his death, says:
I will play the swan,
And die in music.

In English, the last work produced by an artist, writer, or composer, or the last performance of an actor or singer it often called his or her swan song. For example, Schubert's last and greatest collection of songs is called Swan song, which was written in 1828 before his death.

According to a Greek legend, the soul of Apollo, the god of music and poetry, passed into a swan. So some people say the souls of all good poets passed into swans. For this reason, Shakespeare is called the Swan of Avon; Virgil, the Swan of Mantua; Homer, the Swan of Meander.

【中文译文】

鹳 据一种古老的迷信，鹳能带来好运，因为它预告婴儿的诞生。好奇的小孩子向父母问及自己的来历时，父母惯用的回答是，小孩子是鹳带来的。

燕子 檐下有燕子筑巢，对于房主很吉利。英国十七世纪诗人德莱顿在诗中写道，“杀燕子不吉利。”

天鹅 传说天鹅死前要引吭同歌，歌声美妙动人。古希腊罗马的许多作家，包括柏拉图、亚里士多德、欧里庇德斯、西塞罗、塞内加等都对此深入不疑。在莎士比亚的悲剧《奥赛罗》里，爱米莉亚临死时说：
我要学那天鹅，
唱着歌儿死去。
在英语里，作家、美术家和音乐家的绝笔，或演员、歌唱家的最后一次登台，常被称为“天鹅之歌”。如舒伯特去世前不久写的一部歌集被后人定名为《天鹅之歌》。

据古希腊传说，天鹅的身体里有诗歌与音乐之神阿波罗的灵魂，后有人推而广之，说所有大诗人的灵魂都附在天鹅身上。所以莎士比亚被誉为“埃文河上的天鹅”，维吉尔号称“曼图亚的天鹅”，荷马有“密安德的天鹅”之美称。

【题外话】

英国诗人柯尔律治借用天鹅临死前高歌一曲的传说写了两行诗，讽刺自命不凡的蹩脚诗人：天鹅死前一曲高歌；某君倘若在高歌前死去，无人会十分难过。