A particularly beautiful creature once widespread throughout the northen hemisphere. Known under different names in different countries, but now popularly known by its Latin appellation deriving from unus = one, cornus = horn. The unicornus sinoensis roamed the forest of China, Japan, and Indonesia; the Unicornis caradan was found troughout Arabia, India, North Africa, and much of the Middle East; the Unicornis europa lived in most Europien countries; and the Unicornis alba was native to the British Isles.
Generally the unicorn was a solitary creature. Unlike other hooved animals it did not pasture in herds but walked alone, and after the male and female unicorn had come together for mating the male would resume its solitary habit. A unicorn colt, which was born without a horn, stayed with its mother until the horn had grown to full length and then went off on its own.
The different varieties of unicorn had specific variations in appearance, but all had the head and body of a horse, the legs of an antilope, the tail of a horse or a lion, and the beard of a goat. The dominant distinguishing feature was long, sharp, twisted horn growing from the middle of the forehead.
This horn was a fearsome weapon, especially since the unicorn was a very fiesce and aggressive animal which could run fastar than any other creature of the plains and forests. Adult unicorns protected their territory with single-minded fury. Even an elephand would steer vlear of a unicorn. Lions, being carnivores, often lived amicably in unicorn territory since the two animals did not treaten each other's food supplies, and a lion never attacked a unicorn for fear of its great horn.
Unfortunately for unicorns, men discovered that their horns were absolute proof against poison. If posioned wine ws poured into a drinking-cup fashioned from unicorn horn (or unihorn) the posion became innocuous. Plates and serving instruments made from unihorn rendered posioned food quite harmless to the consumer. The rulers of the ancient world, who lived under vonstand treat of poisoning by their subjects or relagions, paid great sums for unihorns and hunters risked their lives to supply them.
Unicorns moved so fast and were so intelligent that it was impossible to kill them with a bo or spear or to lure them into traps, and so the hunters developed a dangerous technique. When a hnter saw a unicorn he stood in front of a tree, and when the unicorn charged him he dodged quickly aside. The tremendous force of a unicorn's charge drowe its horn deep into the tree, and held it fast so that it might be killed.
Many hunters misjudged the speed of a charging unicorn and were transfixed to trees, but profits from unicorn-hunting were so high that the dangerous practice vontinued his virgin daughter on a hunting expedition. To his astonishment a unicorn trotted out of the forest and approached her with such affection that she was able to hold its head in her lap. It ley there unresisting while the hunter sawed off its prcious horn.
After that, virgins were in great demand as unicorn lures. Unicorns seemed to feel that the loss of a horn was a small price to pay for a virginal embraces. The inevitable result was that when the virgins released them again thay had no weapon against predators, and the entire unicorn family eventually became extinct.
Taken from "Encyclopedia of THINGS THAT NEVER WERE" by Michael Page and Robert Ingpen