6 At the end of [another] forty days Noah opened a window of the ark which he had made
7 And sent forth a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters were dried up from the land.
Raven 作名词为，渡鸦，一般也翻译为乌鸦。The song of Ice and Fire 中，通信用的就是乌鸦，而不是信鸽。不知历史事实如何，后世确是用鸽子来通信。
在我国，乌鸦有了厄运的意味，不知从和起源。在西方所以用鸽子，而不是乌鸦来送信，大概就是因为这章内容。
Raven 作动词有攫取、掠夺：狼吞虎咽，两个意思。都是贬义，据此，Raven 在英语中，应该也不会是什么好鸟儿。
此段中，Raven “keep going to and fro”，不知几多时日，劳苦极矣。但因为没能带来好消息，乌鸦苦劳谁人记？时也命也，何其悲也。
然为子孙计，乌鸦因此逃过为人劳役之苦，得终日林间枝头，欢跃啾啾，不亦乐乎？此真如庄子之大椿，以其无用而得存。
8 Then he sent forth a dove to see if the waters had decreased from the surface of the ground.
9 But the dove found no resting-place on which to roost, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were [yet] on the face of the whole land. So he put forth his hand and drew her to him into the ark.
古人读此最后一句，比点曰：如画。
高举手臂，引鸟归其臂，此画面适以鹰。以鸽，当身半探出窗，以掌迎之，及落，拽而入，以显急迫与诡秘。放之舒，迎之迫。
10 He waited another seven days and again sent forth the dove out of the ark.
11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a newly sprouted[1] and freshly plucked[2] olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the land.
12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, but she did not return to him any more.
智哉！若再谴之，鸽不去，失其功矣。去而不知折枝，功亦不就。三谴，以不归而告，大有功成身退之余味。鸽之功，得其所哉！得其时而不失之，时迁而不违之。鸽合《易》也。
鸽衔枝的图形，我第一次有印象是小学一年级的拼音。当时的字母 g，配图就是鸽衔枝。但当时不理解什么意思，何以鸽子要衔着树枝。更重要的是，当时不知道这是橄榄枝，而认作是柳树枝。所以如此，除了村里举目可见细长之纸条，仅有柳条外，可能也受观音玉净瓶中的杨柳枝的影响。
之后，中学美术课上讲到毕加索画的和平鸽，口中必然也是叼着嫩枝的。那时才知道这是橄榄枝。那时认为把鸽子，橄榄枝与和平联系到一起，是自毕加索始，现在知道，鸽子与橄榄枝的组合形象原来比我想象还要古老很多。
现在在我国重大庆典时，放鸽子似乎也成了固定的项目，不知是不是和这个典故有关否？
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