A Childs Tale - The Story of Magic

A Child’s Tale

Gary Kaufman Roads End Llamas Olympia WA

Long before mankind walked the earth, before the great dinosaurs wandered thunderously across the planet amidst the vast jungles that covered the planet, before even the great land mass that was dry ground split into continents, the earth was filled with gloriously magical animals that flew, swam or walked unhindered spreading their special passions and slowly watching Earth emerge.

The sky was filled with dragons of all shapes and sizes, wings spread wide floating high above and through the clouds spitting fireballs across the sky all for just the joy of spitting fire. Lightning was from dragons playing tag with each other. But there were no humans to see it. And all was good with the world.

There were the great mermaids, who swam and leapt through the air, sometimes in play with each other, and sometimes just to tickle the tails of the dragons.  Sometimes, the mermaids would leap up after the great Phoenix, who’s life was shared with Earth, Wind and Fire, always eternally bursting into flames and turning to ash, only to rise and fill the skies with fire and light.

The list of great creatures, was long, way to long to list.  And despite the tales woven after their passing by men they all were gentle and kind. When man emerged from the jungles, he could not understand the Great Magic.  The Centaur, Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Chimera all played a part in the Great Magic. And there are those whose names no longer can be found that roamed the world.

By far, the most magical, powerful and guardian of the Great Magic was the unicorn. 


Long, long ago, the last pair of unicorns on earth realized the only way they could survive would be to disguise themselves and their magic from the world. Man had chased and hunted all but these last two, and it was a bad time for Magic. The lesser creatures had long since hidden from man, and given up their magic. The Phoenix in a final burst broke into thousands of millions of tiny little creatures and became the firefly.The last of the mermaids became the manatee, and the dragons all flew deep into the Sun where they play and shoot giant flares across the solar system in joyful delight.

Because they were the last and greatest of the Magic, the unicorns were asked by all the lesser creatures to stay and protect the earth. They ran away into the deep high mountains of South America.  There they met a family who cherished them for what they were and recognized how special they were. They were allowed to roam the mountains freely, without interference. And all was good in the world.

One day the youngest child saw strangers riding up the trail that led to the high mountain valley where the two unicorns lived. Even the child knew why the strangers were there. She didn’t understand it all, but man couldn’t seem to live in a world with Magic.  She ran ahead to the unicorns and told them what she had seen. 

Gasping and out of breath she said ‘Run, hide, disguise yourself. There are dangerous men coming up into the valley and I know they mean to harm you”. The unicorns were confused about what to do. “No matter where we go”, the male unicorn said, “People will know us for who we are by our wonderful horn. What are we to do?”

“You will have to remove your horns, it’s the only way,” said the child in all honesty. “It may hurt, but I can’t think of any other way”. The unicorns agreed, the male bit off his partner’s horn, and she bit off his.  They stomped the horns into small pieces, each ate the others horn so there would be no trace, and the magic would be preserved.

 When the group of men arrived in the valley, there was no trace of magic or the unicorns, just two creatures way off in the distance walking heads high over the ridge.

And from that day, on every time the little girl would go up into the high mountain valleys she would call out to them with her very special name. "YAMA, YAMA, YAMAS come see me", she would call and they would come out of hiding and play with her.

One day her father followed her into the hills and heard the strange name she called out. "What else would I call them father, she said.”You Are Magic Animals, of course".

When you go out into the fields and hills today, you will see the children of the great unicorns, chewing on the magic of the horns their great-great-great grandparents passed on to them after all these years. Never doubt the Magic lives within them, quietly being shared with those who know. Look deep into their eyes, and you will find it, looking back and waiting for a better day.

Copyright 2012 Gary Kaufman, Roads End Llamas Olympia WA. Permission is granted for nonprofit educational duplication and distribution. This permission is in addition to rights granted under Sections 107, 108 and other provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act.