Unicorn

The unicorn is a legendary creature shaped like a horse, but slender and with a single — usually spiral — horn growing out of its forehead. Though the popular image of the unicorn is that of a white horse differing only in the horn, the traditional unicorn has a billy-goat beard, a lion's tail, and cloven hoofs, which distinguish him from a horse. Marianna Mayer has observed (The Unicorn and the Lake), "The unicorn is the only fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears. In even the earliest references he is fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary, but always mysteriously beautiful. He could be captured only by unfair means, and his single horn was said to neutralize poison."

References

• Beer, Rüdiger Robert, ' (1977). (Editions: ISBN 0884055833; ISBN 090406915X; ISBN 0442805837.)
• Chatwin, Bruce. 1977. In Patagonia. New York: Summit.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911: "Unicorn"
• Gotfredsen, Lise, The Unicorn (1999). (Editions: ISBN 0789205955; ISBN 1860462677.) A richly illustrated cultural history.