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Unicorns
are very famous creatures, but few people actually
take them right. First of all: what do they look
like? Some think a unicorn is a savage animal with
a black, red, and white horn. That is quite right,
but that is not the all-famous kind of 'horse with
a horn', but one of its relatives. The 'horse with
a horn' is the Europian Unicorn.
But the
Europian Unicorn (nor are all the other unicornus
species) is not actually a horse, and calling it
a horse if you see one is the greatest insult. The
unicorn as we know it descended from an antelope-like
two-horned animal, that had two horns growing one
after the other on the forehead. That is also the
explanation for the cloven hooves, the feathered
feet and the beard, which the males have. Another
famous question: does the unicorn really have a
lion's tail? Below is the image of the heraldric
unicorn.
The real
image of the unicorn is a "lion's" tail
indeed, but in fact one that is so covered with
hair that it is often mistaken for a horse's.
The horn
of the unicorn, called the Alicorn, is neither crystal,
gold, fiery, or pure white, but actually a normal
bone colour. Rumours say that a giant ruby can be
found at the base of an ancient male unicorn's horn. Reaserches
have shown that the ruby is really made of crystallised
blood.
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