500 Game Surplus/XSurplus.iso/221/STORY.TXT

Text File | 1996-03-19 | 15KB | 253 lines

.Title, "Quest for the Unicorn"
    Katy knew a unicorn lived near the field where she played. She had
seen it several times, though she had never managed to get close to it.
Once she saw it standing with its head bent gracefully, drinking from the
lake. Once she saw it polishing its bright horn on a maple tree. And once,
best of all, she saw it leap into the air and prance in happy circles.
That was in the spring.
    Katy played with most of the other animals that lived in the
field. The rabbits hopped about and sometimes landed in her lap as she sat
on the grass. One of the squirrels took sunflower seeds from her fingers.
The ducks at the edge of the lake quacked softly to her.
    She always wanted to get close to the unicorn, but it was so
beautiful that whenever she saw it, she could only stand and stare. One
day, she thought, she would touch its soft white nose and stroke its
feathery mane.
    Instead, one day while Katy was lying on her back watching the
birds, a wizard came to the field. She knew he was a wizard, because he
was dressed in a long robe with stars all over it, and he had a pointy
hat.
    "Have you seen the unicorn today?" he asked her.
    Katy thought that was interesting. Most of the grown-ups did not
believe her when she told them about the unicorn. She sat up, brushing
leaves out of her hair, and answered, politely,
    "No, not today. Not for quite a few days."
    "I was afraid of that." The wizard looked very sad. "Another piece
of magic has gone out of the world."
    "Gone?" Katy was worried. "Are you sure? Where has she gone?"
    "I don't know yet," said the wizard. "Will you help me find her?"
    "Of course," said Katy. "What must I do?"
    "Only children can see the unicorn," said the wizard. "I can use
my magic to find her, but only with your help."
    The wizard began to pace out a circle in the grass, and to chant
magic words. Then he produced a silver dish, from out of the air or
perhaps from a pocket in his robe, and asked Katy to fill it with water
from the lake. When Katy came back with the water, he asked her to sit in
the middle of the circle and look into the dish.
    "Think about the unicorn," he said. "Think hard. Concentrate."
    Katy did, while the wizard continued with his complicated spell.
After a time, Katy could see a picture of the unicorn in the clear water
in the dish.
    "I see her!" she cried. "Look!"
    The wizard shook his head. "I will not be able to see her. You
must watch, and tell me everything you see."
    So Katy watched, and she described everything she saw to the
wizard. And this is what Katy saw.
    It was night. The unicorn stood, bathed in moonlight, in the reeds
on the edge of the lake. Suddenly a great shadow darkened the moon, and a
dragon came flying out of the night, flapping overhead on vast dark wings.
    The unicorn reared in panic. She fled into the water, and began to
swim, hard and long. Her wake spread out behind her like silver in the
moonlight. The unicorn kept swimming, long and hard, until she reached the
other side of the lake.
    On the other side of the lake was a forest. The unicorn climbed
onto the bank and water droplets flew from her coat. She seemed to relax,
and Katy was just about to tell the wizard that the unicorn was in the
forest, when the dragon appeared again. This time it swooped lower, with
heavy flaps of its great wings, and landed near the unicorn.
    The unicorn reared, and fled again, deep into the forest. Her
hooves pounded on the soft dirt and pine needles. Branches whipped past
her. After a long time, she came to a castle, with four shining towers
taller than the trees. She slowed down and stopped.
    But the dragon was still pursuing. This time it landed almost
close enough to touch the unicorn. Instead, the unicorn disappeared! The
picture in the water changed, and showed Katy a hallway, all of stone,
with a high shadowed roof. The unicorn was pacing the hallway. Her horn
shed light around her. She was safe, and all alone. There were no doors
and no windows. The dragon could not reach her.
    Katy looked up, and was surprised to see that it was still bright
daylight. She told the wizard what she had seen.
    "But how did the unicorn get into the castle?" she asked.
    "She is a magical creature," said the wizard. "She wished herself
inside the castle, and there she was. But the dragon cannot follow her,
for the castle has been sealed for many years."
    "Then the unicorn is safe now," said Katy.
    "Yes, but not happy." The wizard looked sad again. "She needs to
be able to see the sky, and roll in the grass, and play in the fields. If
she is too afraid of the dragon to come out, maybe she will be trapped
forever."
    Now Katy was sad as well.
    "Is there a way to get her to come back?" she asked.
    "If a child touches the horn of the unicorn, the unicorn must do
what the child tells her to do."
    Katy sighed.
    "I would go after her if I could. But the lake is too wide to
swim, and I would get lost in the forest, and I have no way to get into
the castle."
    "If you truly promise to find the unicorn and bring her back, I
will lend you this." The wizard took off an amulet he wore around his
neck. "When you come to an obstacle, you must whisper the magic word,
Metamorphosis, and you will be given a way to the other side."
    Katy took the amulet. It had a gold chain, and a blue stone that
glowed faintly. She put the amulet around her neck, and walked to the edge
of the lake.
    "Shall I try it?" she asked.
    The wizard did not answer. When Katy turned around, he was gone.
    Katy touched the amulet, and whispered the word, "Metamorphosis."
There was a puff of purple smoke. When Katy could see again, she thought
at first that the world had grown much larger. Then she realized that she
had grown smaller.
    The amulet had turned her into a fish!
    Katy tried to move, and found that she could only flop from side
to side. She flopped off the edge of the bank, and slipped beneath the
water of the lake. For a moment, as she sank, she was on the surface of
the water, teeming with insects and small creatures. Their huge eyes and
fierce mouths were on a level with her own. Then, with relief, she sank
deeper into the welcoming water and left the surface creatures behind.
    As a fish, Katy could swim easily and quickly. She soon discovered
how to steer with little flicks of her tail. When she looked up, the
surface was a strange shimmer far above her. When she looked back along
her own body, she saw that her smooth sides were as bright as a rainbow.
    The lake was still and Katy saw only a few other fish. They stared
at her with curious eyes. She could not speak, or smile. Once she saw a
worm wiggling in the water, suspended on a hook. Someone above her was
fishing in the lake. With a flick of her tail, she swam around the hook.
    When she reached the other side of the lake, Katy wondered how she
would get out of the water. She could not touch the amulet, since she had
no hands, and she could not say the magic word. She struggled up toward
the surface and tried to fling herself onto the bank. There was a puff of
yellow smoke, and she felt herself bursting out of the water. She was
standing in the reeds at the edge of the lake. Her shoes were getting wet.
She was on the edge of the forest.
    Katy walked a little way into the forest. Then she could not see
the way out again, and she was worried. She knew that the forest was wide.
She could wander through the trees for hours. She was not sure how to find
her way to the other side.
    Katy touched the amulet again, and whispered, "Metamorphosis."
    Again there was a puff of purple smoke, and again the world grew
larger. This time she stood on the ground on four sturdy feet.
    The amulet had turned her into a fox!
    Katy looked at her new red body with delight. On dancing fox-feet,
she entered the forest. With her newly sensitive nose, she could smell the
scent of the unicorn that had been here before her. It smelled of mint and
lilac and sunlight. She could follow easily in its tracks.
    Then her sensitive fox-nose caught something else, a heavy scent of
night. The dragon! She could tell it was not here now, but she began to
move more carefully. She had forgotten the dragon until then.
    Katy followed long dark alleys between the tree trunks, and
sometimes crossed bright clearings where the sun streamed down. Twice she
saw rabbits, which hopped away in frantic haste. They were afraid the fox
would want to eat them. Once she saw raspberry canes, dripping with fruit.
She tried to eat some, but the fox's mouth was not suited for picking
berries. The thorns pricked her, and she kept having to lick juice off her
nose.
    Running was sheer delight. Katy could run for hours without tiring.
Her feet were swift, sure, and almost silent. Her long red tail streamed
out behind her as she loped through the trees.
    At last, as the shadows were growing long, she came into an open
grassy place, and saw the castle. It had four tall towers. There was a
sudden puff of yellow smoke as she left the forest, and Katy was herself
again.
    She wandered all the way around the castle, looking for a way in.
She could not see a single window or door.
    "Now what?" Katy said to herself.
    She wondered if the amulet could help her again. She touched it
and whispered, "Metamorphosis."
    When the purple smoke had cleared, Katy was almost as small as she
had been as a fish. She looked back at herself and saw a long tail.
    The amulet had turned her into a mouse!
    Katy skittered toward the castle and almost at once found a tiny
crack in the wall. She crept inside, and found herself in a maze of twisty
little passages. She wandered up one passageway and down the next. After a
long time, she came out into an open area and realized she must be inside
the castle. There was a puff of yellow smoke, and she was herself again.
    She was standing at the end of a long dark hallway. There were
carved stones beneath her feet, and the ceiling arched high overhead. A
clear white light poured from the far end of the hall. Katy started to
walk toward it. As she came closer, she could see that the light was shed
from the silver horn of the unicorn.
    The unicorn was so beautiful that Katy could hardly bear to look
at her. But as she came closer, she thought that the unicorn looked sad,
as well.
    "Are you lonely here? Do you need a friend?" she asked.
    The unicorn bent her head, and Katy did what she had always wanted
to do. She reached out shyly and touched the soft white nose. She stroked
the delicate mane.
    "You can't stay here," said Katy. "Please, come back with me."
    The unicorn did not speak, but only looked at her with great sad
eyes.
    "Please," said Katy. "It is dark outside. I have to go home. My
parents will be worried."
    Then she remembered that the wizard had said she must touch the
unicorn's horn. She reached up and grasped the horn in her hand. For a
moment she felt the tingle of magic, and a strange shiver went down her
back.
    The unicorn lowered her head and looked gravely into Katy's face.
Then she lay down on the stone floor. She kept looking at Katy, and Katy
understood that she was being offered a ride. She could hardly believe it.
She climbed on to the unicorn's back, and buried her hands in the soft
mane.
    The unicorn stood up, slowly and carefully. Katy clasped her
around the neck. Suddenly they were outside the castle, under the night
sky.
    The ride through the forest was wonderful. Katy felt as if she
were flying. The wind blew through her hair, and the unicorn's hooves were
almost silent on the soft ground under the trees. The night was dark but
not cold, and the forest smelled of flowers.
    Then, just as they came in sight of the lake, there was a rush of
wind and the beat of heavy wings overhead. The dragon swooped down upon
the unicorn.
    The unicorn jumped sideways, and Katy grabbed her mane to keep
from falling. The dragon missed the unicorn, and soared upward again.
Before Katy had time to catch her breath, he returned. He lunged down at
them again. The unicorn snorted in terror.
    Again the dragon did not quite touch the unicorn. Again he soared
upward. This time Katy saw him make a loop in the sky. He was a black
shadow against the stars.
    "Wait," she said, to the unicorn. "I think he wants to play!"
    The dragon swoooped down again. The unicorn jumped and shivered,
and Katy thought she was going to make a magical jump, perhaps back to the
castle.
    "No!" she said. "Don't go back! Please!"
    The dragon swooped toward the water of the lake. He soared up
again, just brushing the water so that it splashed up. Katy wondered if he
were a baby dragon. He moved over the surface of the water as if he were
dancing. But the unicorn snorted and trembled. She was still afraid.
    Katy stroked her mane and whispered to her.
    "I don't think he is here to hurt you. Look at him. I think he is
just playing."
    The dragon soared upward until he was lost in the dark. Then he
dropped like a stone toward the lake, his great wings folded. At the last
second, he opened his wings and soared upward.
    "You see?" said Katy.
     She stroked the unicorn's neck. She stroked the soft mane.
Gradually the unicorn stopped trembling. Katy and the unicorn watched the
dragon as he played.
    At last Katy sighed.
    "I have to get home. My parents will be worried."
    The unicorn stepped into the water. Katy took a good hard grip on
the mane. With graceful movements, the unicorn began to swim.
    A few seconds later, the dragon came splashing noisily down into
the lake. He circled the unicorn, but did not come too close. He ducked
his head in and out of the water. He made ripples with his tail. Katy
laughed as she watched.
    Before Katy was ready for the ride to end, the unicorn reached the
far side of the lake. She sprang out onto the grass. She shook herself,
and shook Katy right off her back. Silver droplets sprayed from her coat.
Katy hugged the unicorn, and stroked her one last time. Then she watched
as the unicorn waded back into the lake. She seemed to have lost all fear
of the dragon.
    The wizard came hurrying across the grass.
    "Did you do it?" he asked, eagerly.
    Katy pointed to where the unicorn and the dragon played in the
water. The wizard shook his head and smiled.
    "I cannot see her, remember? Only children can see the unicorn."
    Katy felt a little sad for the wizard.
    "I did it," she said. "I brought her out of the castle. She gave
me a ride on her back. Look how wet I am!"
    "Maybe I should help you explain to your parents," said the wizard.
    Katy thought that was a good idea.
    "There is a dragon, too," she told the wizard.
    "I'm very glad to hear that," said the wizard, as they began to
walk back toward Katy's house. "We need more magic in the world."