- English translation
To its own mother, even a monkey looks like a gazelle.
- Literal wording
The monkey, in its mother's eye, is a gazelle.
- Meaning and lesson
However unappealing a child may seem to other people, a parent's affection makes that child look beautiful and precious. The saying speaks to the high place offspring hold in their parents' eyes, a regard grounded in love rather than in any outside measure of worth.
The image works through contrast. The monkey stands for something commonly thought homely or ungainly, while the gazelle evokes grace and beauty. A mother's gaze turns the one into the other, showing how fondness reshapes what the eye perceives in those we love.
- When it is used
Suited to remarks about how dearly parents regard their children, particularly when a parent's admiration for a son or daughter goes well beyond what others would see. It describes the bond between parents and offspring in general rather than judging any one child.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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