Long, long ago, there was a unicorn forest with many, many great trees. In the forest lived a mother unicorn and a little unicorn, along with lots and lots of small animals.
The mother unicorn had a very beautiful horn growing on her head, and it looked lovely there. Her horn was magical: when a little rabbit got hurt, the mother unicorn touched it with her horn, and the sparkles that fell from the horn landed on the rabbit’s wound, and the rabbit’s injury healed right away. That is why all the animals in the unicorn forest loved the mother unicorn.
But the little unicorn had no horn. Seeing how beautiful and magical his mother’s horn was, the little unicorn wanted a horn too, and he cried and fussed, asking his mother how he could get a horn of his own.
His mother said: Only through his own effort can a unicorn get his own horn — by crossing the colorful mysterious river, passing through the talking cave, and finally climbing to the top of the windy snow mountain to find the fairy, prove his kindness and bravery, and make his wish.
The little unicorn said, Then, Mom, could you go and find the fairy for me and ask for my horn? Please?
His mother said: No. Only by finding the fairy yourself can you get your own horn. You must go yourself.
The little unicorn longed to have a beautiful horn, hoped with all his heart to have magic, and hoped to help the small animals of the unicorn forest just as his mother did. He summoned his courage and believed that he would surely get a horn of his own, and so he took along his most beloved toy, his five-colored pen, and prepared to go and find the fairy.
Just as the little unicorn set out, his mother said to him: You must remember that going with you are your own angel and devil. The angel will help you get your horn; the devil will try every trick to keep you from getting it. You must make friends with the angel to get the unicorn, and be careful of your own devil.
The little unicorn nodded and set off. He had not gone far when his own angel and devil popped out above his head. The devil said, The road is too long and too dangerous, better not go, it is so tiring, not worth it for a horn, not worth it. Then the angel spoke: A horn is a unicorn’s dream. For a dream, no matter how dangerous or hard it is, you must go. A dream is the most beautiful thing of all. I will help you make your dream come true. Come on.
Should the little unicorn listen to the angel or to the devil? Just then the little unicorn remembered his mother’s words. His mother had said that the angel is a friend and the devil is not, so he should listen to the angel. And he himself very much wanted a horn too — so that he could be as beautiful as his mother, and use magic to help the small animals of the forest.
So the little unicorn said to the devil: I believe the angel. For the horn of my dream I will cross the mysterious river and the talking cave, climb to the top of the mountain, find the fairy, and get my horn. I believe that I can surely do it.
Hearing these words, the angel smiled at the little unicorn, nodded, and said, You really are a good child with a dream. The devil had failed, and angrily he vanished (winked out of sight).
The little unicorn walked and walked toward the colorful mysterious river. He walked for three days and three nights, and at last he heard the splashing of the flowing water. The little unicorn suddenly became happy: We have finally reached the colorful river, finally.
But when the little unicorn came closer and looked, this river was not colorful — it was black. And this river was so very wide that it could not be crossed at all. What was going on? Then the angel and the devil came out again. The devil said, See, you have walked so long and still have not found the colorful mysterious river — you must have taken the wrong road. Let us go back. The little unicorn looked sadly at the angel. The angel said: Do not lose heart. When we meet a difficulty we should think of a way. We can ask whether anyone knows if this river really is the colorful mysterious river.
The little unicorn thought it over: That is true. It took us three days and three nights of hard walking to get here, so we cannot lose heart — we must think of a way. So the little unicorn shouted loudly, Is anyone there? Is there anyone who can help me… Before long a shrill voice came from far off: Who is it? Who needs help? The little unicorn looked across the river and saw that it was a squirrel.
The little unicorn said: Hello, I am the little unicorn. Is this the colorful mysterious river? Why is this river black?
The little squirrel said: Oh, hello, my name is tick. This is the colorful mysterious river. This river used to be colorful because there were transparent tadpoles in the river who ate colorful grass as they grew, so the river was colorful. But now there is no colorful grass, and the little tadpoles are all sleeping at the bottom of the water. When they sleep, these tadpoles turn black, so the river water turned black too. Before, I could see all kinds of colors every day and was so happy, but now I can only see black, and my heart is broken too.
Then the angel came out and said to the little unicorn: Little unicorn, your five-colored pen is made of the mysterious colorful grass. You can give your five-colored pen to the little tadpoles and let them turn into colorful tadpoles.
The little unicorn said: No, no, this is my favorite thing. I can use it to draw very beautiful pictures. I cannot give it to the tadpoles.
The devil jumped out and said: Exactly, exactly, you must not give your favorite thing to others, or you will not be happy yourself.
The angel said to the little unicorn again: Helping others is the happiest thing of all. When others are happy, you will be happy too. Although you will be sad to lose your five-colored pen, think about it — will you not be happy that your dream is to get a horn? Helping others and making your own dream come true is the happiest thing of all.
The little unicorn thought it over, and the angel was right — his mother often helped the other small animals too.
So the little unicorn said to the devil: I want to help the little tadpoles and the little squirrel tick and make them happy. I still have my dream, so I will not be unhappy.
Hearing this, the devil shook his head and sadly vanished.
The little unicorn said to the little squirrel tick, Let us give my five-colored pen to the little tadpoles and make the river colorful again. The little squirrel tick was so happy to hear this and nodded again and again. So the little unicorn threw the five-colored pen into the river. The five-colored pen slowly dissolved and turned into lots and lots of colorful grass. Heaps and heaps of little tadpoles began eating with all their might, and before long the river had turned back into the colorful mysterious river.
The little unicorn and the little squirrel tick were both very happy, and they danced for joy. But suddenly the devil appeared again, and with a wicked laugh — heh heh heh — he said, No matter how happy you are, it is useless. The river is too wide; you cannot cross it, you cannot cross it.
Now the little unicorn grew very anxious — what could he do about such a wide river? Then the colorful mysterious river began to splash and gurgle, and the tadpoles all swam toward the little unicorn’s side. Among the many, many tadpoles there was a tadpole king, who leaped up and said to the little unicorn: Little unicorn, do not worry. You just helped us, letting us eat the colorful grass and become colorful tadpoles; now it is our turn to help you. Having said this, the tadpoles swam and swam from one side of the river to the other and formed a little bridge made of tadpoles. This little bridge was made of colorful tadpoles, so it had all kinds of colors, as beautiful as a rainbow. The tadpole king said, Cross over on this bridge.
The little unicorn was so happy; he walked across the colorful tadpole bridge to the far bank. The little squirrel tick asked him where he was going. The little unicorn said: I am going to the talking cave, and then to the windy snow mountain, to find Sister Fairy and ask for my horn. The little squirrel tick said, You let me see the colorful river again, and I am very happy. The snow mountain is terribly cold, so let me give you a little coat. This little coat is made of pine resin and can protect you against the cold of the snow mountain. The little unicorn thanked the little squirrel tick again and again. After saying goodbye to the little squirrel tick and the tadpoles, the little unicorn continued on toward the talking cave.
As he walked along, after passing a big tree he suddenly heard, Do not look, do not look… (a deep voice). The sound came from a cave as big as a house, and the voice was coming out from inside it.
The little unicorn cried happily: I am here, I am here, I have reached the talking cave. The little unicorn skipped and hopped as he ran toward the cave.
When he reached the edge of the cave, the little unicorn saw a very beautiful door, with lovely light spilling out from within. The little unicorn was very curious and wanted to go in and take a look, but from inside the cave came again and again the voice: Do not look, do not look… Then the angel came out and said, The cave says do not look. We should be careful; better not look, and keep on our way. But when the little unicorn saw the beautiful door he wanted very much to see what was inside, so the little unicorn said: No, no, I want to look, I want to look. Then the devil popped out too and said: Exactly, exactly, if you want to look, look. The angel said: There may be danger, do not look, do not look. The little unicorn forgot his mother’s words and did not listen to the angel; slowly he walked toward the beautiful door.
Suddenly a big bear jumped out and blocked the little unicorn’s way, saying, Do not look! Do not look! The little unicorn was so startled that he jumped, then angrily said to the big bear: I want to look, I want to look; for such a beautiful door I just want to see what is inside. The big bear waved his paw and said: Do not look. Inside there is a giant snake, and the moment you go near the door you will be eaten by it. Every day in the cave I tell the passersby not to look, not to look, yet still many people who would not listen (who did not take others’ advice) were eaten by the giant snake. To keep more people from being eaten by the giant snake, I can only shout here every day, do not look, do not look. I have no time to find food and no time to go out and play. You must listen to me.
When the little unicorn heard this, he was so frightened that every hair on his body stood on end. Then the angel came out and said: We should listen to the big bear. He is an adult (an experienced person), and adults know many things, so we should listen to him. The little unicorn finally remembered his mother’s words: the angel is my friend, so I should listen to the angel. So he said to the big bear: Thank you for warning me, or else I would have been eaten by the giant snake. Thank you.
The big bear nodded and walked back into the cave, continuing to warn others, Do not look, do not look… The little unicorn said goodbye to the big bear. As he walked he thought, the big bear warns others here every day not to look, not to look, and has no time to find food or to play — how pitiable. How should I help him? Then the angel jumped out and said: You should first make your own dream come true; only after you get your horn and have magic can you help the big bear. The little unicorn nodded and kept walking and walking.
After another three days and three nights, the little unicorn finally reached the windy snow mountain. He cried happily: I am here, I am here, I have finally reached the snow mountain. A great wind blew on the snow mountain, “woo~ woo~ woo~~~~” — such a great, great wind.
The little unicorn struggled up toward the summit step by step. Suddenly a great gust of wind knocked the little unicorn down. Then the devil popped out and said: Hurry back, do not go on, the wind is too strong, the wind is too strong. The angel said: You must overcome difficulties to get the horn of your dreams. The little unicorn slowly stood up and kept climbing and climbing. He said to the angel: We will surely get the horn of our dreams.
The little unicorn kept climbing in the “woo~ woo~~ woo~~~ woo~~~” of the great wind. The snow grew heavier and heavier, and the weather grew colder and colder, until the little unicorn was almost frozen stiff; he was so frozen that he truly could not walk any further. Then the devil popped out again and said, Hurry back, do not go on, the snow is too heavy, the snow is too heavy, go back to your mother’s side and you will not be cold. The angel said, You must overcome difficulties to get the horn of your dreams, and you must think of a good way to withstand the cold. Then the little unicorn suddenly remembered the clothing made of pine resin that the little squirrel tick had given him, which could protect him from the cold. So the little unicorn put on the clothing made of pine resin and kept climbing and climbing toward the summit. He said to the angel: I have grown up now, I can think of ways to overcome difficulties, and we will surely get the horn of our dreams. The angel smiled and nodded at him, and the devil sadly vanished again.
The little unicorn walked and walked. He crossed the cliff, passed through the great wind and the heavy snow, and after crossing a grassland covered in colorful little grass he finally reached the summit. In the distance, beneath a great pine tree that was about to die, there was a fairy with butterfly wings. She held a magic wand, and the clothes on her body glittered. From beneath the dying great pine tree she waved her magic wand and flew around the tree all the way to its very top, and when the sparkles shed by the magic wand fell on the tree, the great pine tree came back to life; it put out green branches and gradually regained its vitality.
The little unicorn cried happily: I am here, I am here, I have finally reached the summit, I have found the fairy. The little unicorn ran joyfully up to the fairy and said to her: I want to get my horn. Please, fairy, help me.
The fairy flew in midair and asked the little unicorn: I can only give a horn to a kind unicorn, to an obedient unicorn, to a strong unicorn. Are you?
The little unicorn skipped and hopped and said: I am, I am. I helped the little tadpoles; I gave up my five-colored pen so that they could eat the colorful grass and the colorful river could regain its life, so I am a kind unicorn. I listened to the big bear and did not go to look at that door, so I am an obedient unicorn (humble, listening to others’ opinions, and so on). I was not afraid of the great wind and heavy snow and climbed to the summit, so I am a strong and brave unicorn. The angel appeared beside him and nodded, but the devil never came out again; the little unicorn and his angel had together defeated the devil.
The fairy said, Let me see. So she waved her magic wand and saw the little unicorn cross the colorful river, pass the talking cave, and climb the windy snow mountain, and then she nodded too and said: You truly are a kind, obedient, strong, and brave unicorn. I will give you your horn.
The fairy waved her magic wand, and the sparkles shed by the magic wand fell on the unicorn’s head. The unicorn’s horn slowly grew out from the little unicorn’s head. The little unicorn finally had a beautiful horn; he had finally made his dream come true, and he leaped about joyfully on the summit.
The fairy flapped her glittering, transparent wings and came before the little unicorn, saying to him: Kind, brave, and strong little unicorn, remember to be a good child, or your horn will disappear. The little unicorn nodded again and again, and joyfully headed down the mountain.
When he reached the colorful grassland at the summit, the angel told him that he should remember to thank those who had helped him. The little unicorn remembered the little tadpoles of the colorful river, who needed colorful grass, so the little unicorn gathered lots and lots of seeds of the colorful grass and joyfully went down the mountain.
When he reached the talking cave, he shook his horn and used magic to freeze that beautiful door solid, then said to the big bear: Thank you for warning me and keeping me from looking at that beautiful door; otherwise I would have been eaten by the snake. Thank you. To thank you, I have used magic to freeze that beautiful door, so the giant snake can never eat small animals again, and you can now go out to play and go out to find food. When the big bear heard this he was overjoyed, waved goodbye to the little unicorn again and again, and then dashed off in a puff to the forest nearby (after the big bear left, it was very quiet inside the cave, not a sound — so it turns out the talking cave was talking because the big bear was shouting inside it — let the child figure this out for himself).
The little unicorn left the talking cave and continued back the way he had come until he reached the colorful mysterious river. The river was still just as wide, and there was no walking across it, but now the little unicorn had already gotten his own horn. So he shook his horn, and over the river a beautiful rainbow bridge slowly appeared. The little unicorn walked across the rainbow bridge to the far bank and shouted: Little squirrel tick… Tadpole king… I have already gotten my horn, and I have come to bring you the seeds of the colorful grass.
The little squirrel tick and the tadpole king came happily to welcome the little unicorn, and together they scattered the seeds into the colorful mysterious river, and the colors of the river became even more vivid. The tadpole king praised him again and again: You really are a kind unicorn.
The little unicorn left the colorful mysterious river and at last returned to his mother’s side. He ran flying toward his mother, and as he ran he cried happily: Mom, Mom, I have gotten my own horn, I have gotten my own horn. The mother unicorn and the little unicorn embraced each other, and his mother said: Child, you followed the guidance of your own angel and bravely crossed the great wind and heavy snow to get your own horn, and you remembered to go back and repay those who had helped you after getting your horn. You have truly grown up. And from then on the little unicorn and his mother lived a happy and joyful life in the unicorn forest.
Story design breakdown and educational applications:
The little unicorn: stands for the child himself. The hope is that the child will be strong, brave, kind, and obedient.
The angel and the devil: stand for good and evil, right and wrong. Once the story has finished planting this idea, in daily life all kinds of things can be used to guide the child through “what the angel says” and “what the devil says.” What the angel says can be extended without limit.
The horn: in Chinese it should really be “jiǎo,” but in a child’s ear the words for “horn” and “foot” sound the same and are easily confused, so when telling it to a child it is still called “jījiǎo” (the two-character word for horn). Getting the horn is a metaphor for a child doing something, or an adult guiding a child to do something, or playing — in the process, letting the child remember bravery, strength, and kindness. For example, if the child falls while playing and is about to cry, you can remind him: look, the little unicorn did not cry even when the wind knocked him down; he stood up by himself and kept walking. Use this to guide the child.
The magic after getting the horn: a metaphor for how, once a child gains a skill, it should be used to help others and to help solve his own problems.
The horn will disappear: when designing the fairy’s reminder in the final passage, the point is to tell children that if they do bad things or disobey, the horn will disappear.
The five-colored pen: a metaphor for the child’s most treasured toy or possession. Tell them to be good at sharing and not to be stingy; when the child is being selfish you can bring up the five-colored pen passage: look, even the unicorn gave his five-colored pen to the tadpoles.
The return journey: the route home tells the child to be grateful and thankful. Use this passage to guide the child when he has received help from others.
The fairy: the same concept as God. The final passage, where the fairy uses her magic wand to see whether the little unicorn is kind and brave, can be used to tell the child that whatever he does, the fairy can see it — self-education. For example, when the child is doing something wrong, you can say that the fairy saw you do something bad and is going to take back your horn.
The great wind and heavy snow: a veiled metaphor for difficulties, grievances, and so on.
The beautiful door: a veiled metaphor for desire (when you first tell the story to a child, it is enough just to make the child obedient; once the child is a little older, you can gradually explain the idea that behind the beautiful door lies desire. For example, when the child insists on buying a toy, you can teach him to listen to the big bear and control his own desires.)
The big bear: a metaphor for an experienced person, so the child draws on others’ experience and does not act willfully. For example, when you say that a certain uncle is right and the child should listen, because he is an adult just like the big bear, and adults know more.
The little squirrel: it is a character from a cartoon my child often watches, so I added it in. There is nothing special about it; it is only there to catch the child’s interest. If your child has a cartoon character he is especially familiar with, you can substitute that character for this one. The same goes for the talking cave: it is only meant to catch the child’s interest, and can be replaced with something your own child is interested in or curious about.
