Welcome | Feather | Magic | Pride | Fusion | Purity | Lessons Learned...
After the smell of
the saltwater in the room with the Hippocampus, the room we entered
next was a stark contrast. It was across from the fountain and
it's doors were covered with Mother of Pearl and the handles were
ivory. I already had an idea of what was behind the doors.
The room we entered was a forest. This was not a woodsy, dense forest like the one of the Centaur. It did not smell of decomposing plant matter; it was clean and fresh with vines hanging everywhere and a stream running through the forest. There were birds and small animal life everywhere. They were not afraid of us, nor were we afraid of them. Deer, squirrels and all manner of birds came to greet us. The women of the group clasped their hands over their mouths in silent awe and the men just looked stupefied. Our tour guide greeted one particularly large buck with a carrot from the pocket of her toga that he gladly took and silently walked away. She turned to us and said, "We are in the forest of the unicorn."
She began her story with, "There are many legends about the unicorn, some true and some untrue. We will begin with his appearance. He is a cloven hoofed animal with a white hair coat and silver mane, tail and beard. They are born black and turn to white when they are approximately 6 years of age. The beard also lengthens with age and maturity. Their horn is often 12 inches long, spiraled with a red tip and has healing properties. They are shy creatures but will defend their kind to the death if necessary." As our guide spoke, we all looked around for the creature she was talking about but we did not see him.
Some of the women of our group began to find places to sit while the men leaned against trees. Our guide just stood next to the stream with her hands clasped at her waist. She continued, "Some people have hunted the unicorn for it's horn. It protects against poison and can purify water that has been tainted. There are many legends referring to water that has been returned to a clean and natural state from one touch of a unicorn's horn." Her next comment took us by surprise. "Are there any among us who are pure?" We all looked at each other, perplexed. One girl, who sat on the fringes of our group, held her head down and raised her hand. Our guide walked over to her and helped her to her feet. The girl said, "You mean a virgin, right?" Our guide nodded her head. "I've heard the stories about virgins being able to touch the unicorn. I am. Can I touch him", the girl asked? Our guide motioned to a stump beside the stream and the girl sat down.
We heard no sound as he approached but the sight of
him took our breath away. Not one person in the group spoke or
moved. His mane and tail looked like silk threads and his
forelock hung in his face. Through it we could see ice blue eyes
that were different from the other creatures we had seen. They
were sad. It was as if he held the weight of the world on his
shoulders. He approached the girl on the tree stump and gently
placed his head in her hands. With his touch, she began to
cry. He raised his head and nuzzled his nose on her cheek to wipe
her tears. "Our time here at the museum has come to an end.
If there is one thing that we all want you to take with you it is the
commitment that you have to the world around you. We want you to
believe in yourselves and what you see around you, not what people tell
you. The people, animals and nature around you are yours to keep
only if you respect them - all of them. The unicorn you see
before you is the last of his kind and our managers cannot see
returning to this place again if there are no humans to believe in what
we do. If you do not believe, he will surely die." With
those words, our guide finished her speech and began to look at each
one of us in turn. We each nodded to her and wiped the tears from
our faces. Even the skeptic was crying. We spent the least
amount of time with the unicorn, but that visit had the most impact.
Author's Note:
I chose to make the physical description of the unicorn as I believed he should look. I also added the folklore bits about the virgin being able to touch him and his horn purifying water that has been poisoned. Please read the epilogue to see what happens to our museum goer.
Web Sources:
AllRefer Encyclopedia
http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/U/unicorn.html
The Home of the Unicorn
http://home.swipnet.se/~w-59099/maskrosbarnen/Unicorn/Unicorn.htm
Encyclopedia Mythica
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/u/unicorn.html
Image Information:
Photos Taken from the Gallery at 'The Home of the Unicorn' - Original Images
The room we entered was a forest. This was not a woodsy, dense forest like the one of the Centaur. It did not smell of decomposing plant matter; it was clean and fresh with vines hanging everywhere and a stream running through the forest. There were birds and small animal life everywhere. They were not afraid of us, nor were we afraid of them. Deer, squirrels and all manner of birds came to greet us. The women of the group clasped their hands over their mouths in silent awe and the men just looked stupefied. Our tour guide greeted one particularly large buck with a carrot from the pocket of her toga that he gladly took and silently walked away. She turned to us and said, "We are in the forest of the unicorn."
She began her story with, "There are many legends about the unicorn, some true and some untrue. We will begin with his appearance. He is a cloven hoofed animal with a white hair coat and silver mane, tail and beard. They are born black and turn to white when they are approximately 6 years of age. The beard also lengthens with age and maturity. Their horn is often 12 inches long, spiraled with a red tip and has healing properties. They are shy creatures but will defend their kind to the death if necessary." As our guide spoke, we all looked around for the creature she was talking about but we did not see him.
Some of the women of our group began to find places to sit while the men leaned against trees. Our guide just stood next to the stream with her hands clasped at her waist. She continued, "Some people have hunted the unicorn for it's horn. It protects against poison and can purify water that has been tainted. There are many legends referring to water that has been returned to a clean and natural state from one touch of a unicorn's horn." Her next comment took us by surprise. "Are there any among us who are pure?" We all looked at each other, perplexed. One girl, who sat on the fringes of our group, held her head down and raised her hand. Our guide walked over to her and helped her to her feet. The girl said, "You mean a virgin, right?" Our guide nodded her head. "I've heard the stories about virgins being able to touch the unicorn. I am. Can I touch him", the girl asked? Our guide motioned to a stump beside the stream and the girl sat down.
Author's Note:
I chose to make the physical description of the unicorn as I believed he should look. I also added the folklore bits about the virgin being able to touch him and his horn purifying water that has been poisoned. Please read the epilogue to see what happens to our museum goer.
Web Sources:
AllRefer Encyclopedia
http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/U/unicorn.html
The Home of the Unicorn
http://home.swipnet.se/~w-59099/maskrosbarnen/Unicorn/Unicorn.htm
Encyclopedia Mythica
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/u/unicorn.html
Image Information:
Photos Taken from the Gallery at 'The Home of the Unicorn' - Original Images