【英文原文】

Owl The owl has a weird hooting or screeching call that sounds very ghostly in the silent night. So some people associated it with death. In the Middle Ages some people called the owl "night hag"; it was said to be a witch in the form of a bird. The owl is still associated with witches in the symbolism of Halloween.

【中文譯文】

貓頭鷹 在寂靜的夜里，貓頭鷹古怪的叫聲令人毛骨悚然。所以人們將它與死亡聯(lián)系在一起。中世紀，人們稱之為“夜之巫”，據(jù)說是女巫變的。直到今天，貓頭鷹仍在萬圣節(jié)前夜眾多妖魔鬼怪之列。

【題外話】

有人說在西方貓頭鷹是智慧的象征，此話不假，因為它是智慧女神雅典娜的圣鳥。但在西歐民間，雅典娜屬外來文化。貓頭鷹不吉利，中西民間看法大致相同。