A unicorn like the one pictured above is the most popular idea of what a unicorn looks like. Many modern artists and writers, when putting a unicorn into their work, will use this description. But myth and legend paint more than just the one picture.

The unicorn of China and Japan looks much different than the western hemisphere's. The eastern unicorn is described as being about the size of a calf and covered with scales like a dragon. The male is named Ki' and the female, Lin. But since nobody, except presumably, *smile* the unicorn itself, can tell the difference between the male and female, the unicorn is called the ki'lin. The unicorn is said to appear before the birth or death of a great man, as well as during a golden age. A ki'lin appeared to Confucius' mother while she was pregnant to impart the message that she would bear a son who would be a king without a throne. In time that prediction came true as Confucius became a well-known and respected man whose name and works has survived to this day. Truly a king without a throne. The ki'lin is very gentle and will not step on the smallest insect or plant. It will eat only fruit that has fallen from the tree, and will not appear during a dark age, when there is an evil king on the throne.