Unicorns??? - by Quillian

Location: Temple of the Second Emperor in Nihn Bihn. The creature next to the human is a unicorn  

You’ve heard of a unicorn, right? A horse with a horn on top of its head? Yes, course you have. But have you heard of a Vietnamese unicorn? It is more of a lion with horns. It has a luxurious coat with a great big mane, a big tongue, and two scary eyeballs. It also has two short spiked horns that look a little like an antelope or goat.  It’s pretty funny. We have seen these "lion goats" on various occasions, but the funniest time was the first time. It was at a water puppet show in Hanoi. The show started with humans, dragons, frogs, fish, and phoenix, which all looked normal by American standards. It was quite a surprise when we saw their "unicorns" for the first time. For a while I thought they were some weird looking dragon, until Tre looked at the booklet and it said “Unicorn Dance.” Everybody thought the unicorns looked so weird. On other occasions, like at the second emperors tomb, we saw the same unicorns. These unicorns are infant of many houses, buildings, and hotels.  They are believed to scare away bad luck and invite good luck. I’m pretty sure that unicorn is a bad translation and I consider myself a unicorn expert. 

A funny looking "unicorn" at a Buddhist temple on Marble Mountain near Da Nang, Vietnam

A unicorn with a baby unicorn both wearing the same necklace were warding off bad luck near Da Nang, Vietnam.

A 'unicorn" in a park near the Perfume River in Hue (though chipmunk-like, it makes an excellent chair)