the twins and the karkadann 

Anthony Shepherd - The Right of the Unicorns

ne morning very early, a young man left his home in the desert of northern Arabia. He took with him a camel, a bow and arrow, and a small sack of provisions. Only his twin brother knew his intentions, and he was sworn to secrecy, for the young hunter was planning to kill a karkadann, a vicious brute with one black horn protruding from its forehead. The karkadann's voice was said to be so terrible that when it bellowed, the birds flew away.

No wonder this one - horned beast was feared by all living creatures and left thoroughly alone unless one had very good reasons for tracking it down. If the young man's family knew of his plans to seek the creature, they would surely have stopped him from going on such a journey to seek the creature, they would surely have stopped him from going on such a dangerous mission.

When the man had been gone for three, then four days, his brother at home began to worry. Finally he too took a camel and set out across the sands. After a while he came upon his brother's leather sack in a puddle of dry brown blood. He fell to his knees, praying for help. When he arose he saw on the horizon the karkadann. This time it had the form of a graceful antelope whose single horn curved over its back. And there across its back was draped the young hunter. The animal tossed its head, trying to dislodge the man, but it could not, for it had run its sharp horn through the man's thigh. Thus impaled, the hunter lay in pain.

The twin aimed his bow and arrow at the beast but did not shoot for fear of hitting his brother. Instead he waited until evening and hid in the tall grass. When morning came, he crept up on the animal as it grazed, and with his dagger, stabbed the creature between the ribs. It fell, screeching, blew out its breath, and died.

The second twin helped his wounded brother. He removed the horn and bound his bleeding leg. They cut off the beast's horn and took it with the rest of the carcass, back to their settlement. There, amidst joyful shouts of greeting, the fat of the karkadann was rubbed on the grandfather's aching knuckles and hips. He felt great relief. The meat of the animal was used to get rid of the demons that had been haunting the Aunt of the twins' sister. And the horn was made into a flute to charm sheep and snakes. When not used to make enchanting music the horn. served as a talisman [good - luck charm] against the bite of the dreaded scorpion. This was a valuable animal indeed.

Shepherd believes the unicorn of fable was actually the oryx, an antelope native to Arabia. The adventure tale could have been based on a real story. Shepherd says, "The bedouin [desert dweller] considered that a man who killed an oryx inherited some of its virtues, which were those of courage, strength, and endurance.

By eating it he became imbued with those desirable qualities." There were other reasons for killing the beast, however, Shepherd says a properly cured skin would bring a high price in the market. The oryx inhabited a part of Arabia known as the Empty Quarter," an area lacking in food, water, and life. To come upon any animal there was a rare event. The oryx, a graceful antelope when seen from the side, sometimes appears to have a single horn. Could the Arabian karkadann, or unicorn, really be an oryx?

Artwork by  Aleister Lam - a different interpretation