Once there was a little unicorn. She was very unhappy, because a wicked man had made himself her master. He was very cruel, and demanded much of her. Sometimes he even beat her, caring not about the big silvery tears that fell from her eyes.
One night, as she tried to sleep, under the tree where she was tied, a big black wolf came up to her. She shrank back in horror and fear, but he looked at her with gentle eyes. He saw how thin she was, and noticed whip marks and bruises on her, and the rope burns on her neck.
“Come away with me,” he said.
“Oh, I couldn’t!” she cried. “My master would be so mad. He would come after me, and hurt both of us.”
“I can take care of your master,” the wolf said savagely.
But the little unicorn was too afraid. The wolf finally left her for his home in the woods, after making her promise to call him if she ever changed her mind.
“How will I call you?” she asked him.
“Like this”, he said, and threw back his head and howled.
“I could never do that!” she cried.
“Try it,” he said to her, so she threw back her own head and tried to howl, but it came out as a whinny. “Keep trying”, he said to her, and finally he told her it was good enough. Then he was gone.
A few days later, the unicorn’s master came back from town. He had been drinking more than usual, and was in a very bad mood. As he approached the unicorn’s tree, he tripped over a stone and fell. “You stupid beast!” he cried as she cowered under the tree. He got up and began to pound her shaking body with his fists. She whimpered at first, then the wolf’s words came to her mind.
“Eeee” she whinnied. Then, to her master’s surprise, the whinny began to sound like something else. “Eeeeoooowwwww”. From deep in the woods, there was an answering howl. The man stepped back, startled, and ran right into the big black wolf that had come when the unicorn howled. The wolf snarled at the man, who ran away and was never seen in those parts again.
He bit the rope from the unicorn’s neck, and licked the burns that it had left. She timidly followed him into the woods where he took very good care of her. She began to gain weight, and her eyes began to sparkle. She froliced and played, and the wolf made garlands of flowers to hang around her neck. They lived happily together in the woods ever after.
In a small forest by the edge of town, there lived a little unicorn. She was the only unicorn
around, although there were lots of other animals. Her Master lived in a castle not too far
away, and he had given her lots of instructions about how a unicorn should act. For one thing, unicorns were always to help others if they could. Their spiraled horns were full of power - they were sharp enough to cut away evil, but they could also be used to heal, cleanse, and purify. No matter how tired a unicorn was, she always had a duty to all the other animals if they needed anything.Unicorns were never supposed to be mean to any of the other animals. They were supposed to reflect the love of the Master to all other creatures.
This particular little unicorn had grown tired of her work. She didn't feel that the other animals appreciated her sacrifices, and didn't understand why she alone had to keep doing things that she didn't feel like doing. Sometimes she had even poked other animals with her horn. Not hard enough to really hurt them, but just hard enough to cause them pain. She knew she was being very wrong, but she didn't know what to do. She decided to leave the forest and go to the castle and complain to the Master. Maybe he would let her stay there with Him.
"Oh, Master, I hate it there! All the other animals are so rude and ungrateful, and I get so sick of always having to do things for them! Nobody ever does anything for me, and they aren't nice at all."
The Master didn't say anything at first. Then, finally He asked her, "But what does that have to do with you, Little One? Did you not agree to go to serve them?"
She was irritated then, and tossed her head and replied, "Well, I can't help it. I didn't know what it would be like." Then she looked down, because she knew she shouldn't be talking to the Master like that.
But He didn't seem to be mad at her. He touched her head, and His touch felt warm and good. "You seem to be forgetting that you are there to serve them, not they you, Little One," he said to her.
She felt tears burn her eyes, and she looked up at Him in frustration. "But you don't know what it's like!" she cried.
Again, He didn't speak, but held up His hands so she could see the scars. She bowed her head and wept then, realizing that He did indeed know what it was like, even more than she did.
He let her cry, but kept stroking her head softly. "I know it's hard, Little One," He said softly. "But you have to remember that I've given you everything you need to keep going." He touched the tip of her horn, and it blazed with a blue light.
"But Master," she whimpered, "can't I please just stay here with You?"
"Soon, Little One," He promised. "But right now, the other animals need you. You are the only one they have, and I'm counting on you to be there for them. And you know you can summon me in your heart any time, no matter where you are."
The little unicorn sighed. She nuzzled closer to her Master, loving Him so much. "I will go, Master. And I'm sorry for being so bad before."
"I know you are, Little One," He said to her. "Just remember that I am with you. Concentrate on that, and not on the bad things. Show the other animals how much they are loved, because you yourself already know how much you are loved."
Yes, the little unicorn did know. As the Master's nail-scarred hand continued to stroke her head, she felt very much loved indeed. She looked into His eyes. "I think I'm ready to go back now, Master," she said.
She nuzzled Him one last time, and as He watched her, she scampered back into the woods, her hooves stepping lightly, and her heart singing with joy.
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