Unicorns... Long ago, when the first frost of the christmas winter had fallen, and the moon shone brightly on the earth below, a group of mischievous horses, celebrating the dawn of christmas, strode away from their herd and found themselves stuck in a great hole. After fighting desperately to be free, they discovered vines growing along the edge. These they climbed and used to get out. But on the heads of each one of them, a piece of the vine remained, to remind them of their foolish deed. The vines remain today on the tops of these beautiful steeds, though we know them now as horns. This significant feature sets them apart as magical and mysterious creatures, who love the night, especially in winter, and dance on the mountain tops, on christmas eve, radiant with the silver hue of the moon. A few of them now assist Father Christmas in his toy making, and when his reign deer are too sick with cold to fly, will pull his sleigh on christmas eve. Unicorns love humans, dancing for them and offering protection with their horns. They become very giddy, prancing around and laughing, as horses do, when men are near. All horses are quite humorous, to begin with, but unicorns are even more so, and love to dance and skip and run free with power and speed in their stride. The vines atop the unicorns' heads are believed to be some of the sliver thorns, which long ago were used to bind a husband and wife in holy matrimony or even as the bases for arrows used by the wood elves. Whether they were silver thorns or not, they were undoubtedly magic and hold firm on the horses heads offering wisdom in place of their once foolishness. |  |
