Unicorn

Sham S. Misri

Unicorn was believed to be a horse like animal with single horn on its forehead.  This strange animal was known throughout Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa.  The ancient Greeks described it as a white horse with a purple head,  blue eyes,  and a long horn that was white at the bottom , black in the middle, and red at the top  Chinese knew the Unicorn as an animal with the body of a deer, the hoofs of a horse, and the tail of an ox. Its voice was like a deep bell. The people of medieval Europe knew the Unicorn as a pure white horse with a goat like beard, a lion’s tail, an ox’s hoofs, and a long spiraled horn. It lived in deserts and on high mountains. It was incredibly swift and could not be caught by hunters or traps. It could only be caught by a young, unmarried girl. If she would wait alone in a forest , a unicorn would come and lay its head in her lap , then tamely follow her , wherever she went.

The horn of Unicorn had special power. If a snake poisoned the water of the animals drinking pool in the forest , the unicorn would stir the water with its horn and the poison would disappear. Kings, nobles and wealthy merchants were willing to pay a fortune for a wine cup made from a Unicorn’s horn. Such a cup, it was said, would change color if poison was added to it, warning the owner not to drink.