Peter S. Beagle; The Last Unicorn
Alexander the Great was actually said to have ridden a unicorn--the famous Bucephalus, who many think was merely a horse, but others claim was a unicorn. Bucephalus gained fame as a war horse, so he was probably a relative of the famous kar-ka-dann, the unicorn of Persia.
The Unicorn
A long time ago, when the Earth was green
There was more kinds of animals than you've ever seen
They'd run around free while the Earth was being born
And the loveliest of all was the unicorn
There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
The loveliest of all was the unicorn
The Lord seen some sinning and it gave Him pain
And He says, "Stand back, I'm going to make it rain"
He says, "Hey Noah, I'll tell you what to do
Build me a floating zoo,
and take some of those
Green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
Don't you forget My unicorns
Old Noah was there to answer the call
He finished up making the ark just as the rain started to fall
He marched the animals two by two
And he called out as they came through
Hey Lord, I've got green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I'm so forlorn
I just can't find no unicorns"
And Noah looked out through the driving rain
Them unicorns were hiding, playing silly games
Kicking and splashing while the rain was falling
Oh, them silly unicorns
There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Noah cried, "Close the door because the rain is falling
And we just can't wait for no unicorns"
The ark started moving, it drifted with the tide
The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried
And the waters came down and sort of floated them away
That's why you never see unicorns to this very day
You'll see green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants,
but sure as you're born
You're never gonna see no unicorns.
By Shel Silverstein
The Unicorn's horn has always been thought to contain a powerful magic. People knew that all the unicorn had to do was dip its horn in muddy water to make the water clear and pure.
Eventually people began to hunt the Unicorn for its horn. To drink from the horn is to be protected from sickness. The horn can even detect poison in food and is therefor valued by kings (saves on royal tasters).
~*~Sky Baby~*~
Jakob Bartsch first mentioned the constellation Monoceros around 1624. The stars of the Unicorn were described in detail in the catalog of Hevelius in 1690. The Milky Way runs through the center of this constellation. There are 146 stars in Monoceros that are visible to the naked eye.
