If you don’t believe unicorns exist, you might want to think again. Little Tikes hears first-hand accounts from those who’ve spotted them in Australia.
It would seem some people don’t believe unicorns really exist but try telling that to our Little Tikes. According to them, if you’re one of the nay-sayers you’re simply not looking in the right places. We spoke to a handful of children, excitable at the mere mention of unicorns, and asked them to tell us all about the magical, horse-like creatures with spiral horns that take up so much of their imagination and playtime.
But are unicorns real? We’re left feeling that’s a silly question.
Seeing is believing
Isobel, three, explains: “Unicorns are real, yes. They say ‘neigh’ and they look after princesses.
“I like unicorns,” she tells us. “But when I was a baby, I was on a unicorn and I shouted loudly ‘giddy up’. It started to giddy up and I nearly fell off it.”
Isobel isn’t the only little girl lucky enough to have met a unicorn. Four-year-old Georgia remembers the special times she’s spent with the animals: “I rided all over on one – it looked like a rainbow. Unicorns do magic and make joy splash into my face!”.
Grace, six has also spotted a sighting, explaining: “I’ve met one at school – it came to see the whole school.”
None of the children have managed to catch a glimpse of a unicorn in its natural habitat yet. That’s because they’re very private creatures and like to keep an air of mystery about themselves, but Grace has a few thoughts about where they’re likely to live. She says: “In the woods or the countryside or somewhere near trees. They probably eat candy. They probably move things with their horns and make things appear.”
Katie, nine, imagines the sounds a unicorn would make, explaining: “They make horse noises but they’re a bit more tuneful.”
Sophia, five thinks that they have horn and asked what magical powers they have, Ellie, four and Phoebe, six explain that the horn shoots lasers out and the tail does too. Meanwhile, Georgia believes that unicorns fly far away to India or to the centre of the earth to find treasure, gold and diamonds.
They’re very busy creatures.
The unicorn is alive and well.
It’s said the powerful unicorn dates back to the fourth century when a Greek physician heard many tales of sightings on his travels and that this beautiful, graceful animal had a white body and a multi-coloured horn that appeared to be about 18 inches in length. Now, in popular culture, unicorns are everywhere – in films, coffees, lipgloss and even on toast. It’s also been decided that a whole day of celebration and jubilation is needed for the animal and April is now the designated month for National Unicorn Day.
We can all appreciate unicorns are notoriously hard to catch – they’re magical after all – so it’s little wonder we see so few of them. In the meantime, these majestic creatures will continue to gallop through the imaginations of wide-eyed children everywhere. Fire up young creative minds with themed toys like the Magical Unicorn Carriage, a ride-on unicorn car with a rotating, light-up horn, and let them play at being unicorn-owning princesses and princes to their hearts’ content.
And the answer to the title question? Of course, unicorns are real. With accounts as honest and impassioned as these, who are we to argue anything different? Next time you hear a horse that sounds that little bit more ‘singy’, pay attention as you might just be in the company of a glitter-throwing unicorn.