Over the mountains, deep in the woods and far, far away,

     is a secret forest where all the unicorns play.

The forest is a magical place with flowers big as bears.

     And the bears are just as friendly as all the other creatures there.

The trees are tall; they reach way up to the sky,

     and if you look real hard, a rainbow may catch your eye.

But it's the magic of the moon, so big and round and bright,

     that lights the path to follow to the unicorns tonight.

A folktale tells the seeker, "you must be pure of heart to receive"

     the magic that the forest only gives to those who believe.

And so a boy named Tony crept into the woods one night,

     with hopes of seeing unicorns dancing in delight.

Beyond the path, around the bend, he paused at the edge of a meadow,

     he listened and waited, quiet as a mouse, hidden in a tree's shadow.

Above him in the trees he heard the hooting of an owl,

     and in the whisper of a breeze was the sound of a distant growl.

Swirling fireflies twinkled like stars high up in the sky;

     they flitted happily here and there; one buzzed right past his eye.

Then all at once the forest became silent as falling snow,

     as the fireflies swarmed together to create a brilliant glow.

Tony held his breath and soon beheld a magical sight,

     suddenly before him, pranced the magical unicorns of white.

The unicorns were white as snow with golden horns that gleamed;

     their golden hooves pranced off the ground just as he had dreamed.

A mighty stallion led the way with flowing mane and tail,

     with his head held high, he strutted proudly along the flowered trail.

Behind him was a sleek white mare, so elegant and lovely,

     with her month-old colt beside her, as cute as a unicorn could be.

The colt bounced gaily at her side and sparkled just like snow,

     as he followed the others across the moonlit meadow.

Then he ran around the others once, twice or was it thrice,

     Tony held in a giggle as he continued to watch, staying quiet as mice.

Soon all the unicorns were whirling and dancing in delight,

     Tony almost let out a "Wow!" as he beheld the wondrous sight.

They leaped high into the air and whinnied with glee,

     then glided back down to earth; it was almost heavenly.

The colt skipped and whirled and danced, but then suddenly froze,

     when a big wart-skinned toad jumped up right in front of his nose.

The toad's throat puffed up to two times its own size,

     as he belched out a loud "croak" to announce his surprise.

Then, with a wide toothless grin, the toad hopped away

     with the curious colt following closely behind as if wanting to play.

The toad broad jumped a toadstool and a large boulder,

     and led the colt into the woods where it was colder.

Suddenly, the boy and unicorn were standing eye to eye,

     the colt had been told humans were bad, but was never told why.

Tony gazed at the unicorn; his eyes filled with wonder,

     and didn't dare twitch a muscle as they stared back at each other.

Around the colt's neck, hidden between strands of his mane

     was an engraved silver heart necklace; "Jupiter" was his name.   

Frightened of the small human, Jupiter began to back away,

     but Tony really wanted the magical colt to stay.

"Wait, please don't go," Tony cried as the colt whirled around in fright,

     running wildly through the trees, weaving left and right.

Jupiter fled toward the meadow, "Run! Run!" he warned the others.

     But in his panic to escape, he fell to the ground out of the sight of his mother.

He quickly got to his feet, but his hoof was trapped under a hollow tree,

     he tugged and yanked as hard as he could, but he just couldn't pull free.

The colt panicked as the boy came closer and closer step by step.

     "Easy boy.  Don't be afraid," Tony whispered so Jupiter wouldn't be upset.

Tony came to a stop right in front of the trembling unicorn,

     "I promise I won't hurt you," he said as he watched the colt's golden horn.

Jupiter was certain he was doomed.  The human would take him away.

     He would never, ever see his family again after today.

Tony freed the trapped hoof, then the forest held its breath

      as the boy reached up and touched the colt's nose.

In that magical moment, their hearts seemed to beat as one,

     in a silence that only revealed a drop of dew falling from a rose.

Then the colt heard his mother's call, "Jupiter, where are you, my son?"

     and in the wink of an eye, the colt began to run.

As Tony watched, the unicorns changed into a golden glow of twinkling light,

     which disappeared, leaving an empty meadow shimmering in the moonlight.

Many years passed.  Tony grew up and had children of his own;

    at story time, he'd tell about the night he crept into the woods alone

On a moonlit night when mythical white unicorns danced in delight,

     and of a small colt named Jupiter so soft and snowy white.

Tony tried to find that magical meadow many times as he grew,

     perhaps it had just been a dream because he never found a clue.

Then one day a terrible thing happened, his little girl of four was lost,

     he feared she had gone into the woods and vowed to find her at any cost.

The townspeople searched and searched, but at the end of the day,

     there still was no sign of Tony's sweet little Dolly Mae.

Tony and his wife were frantic, then he rose from his chair.

     "I'll find her myself," he told his family, as he brushed back his graying hair.

 So into the woods he went with a flashlight in his hand,

     he entered the forest once more, but this time as a man.

He looked in the places he loved as a child,

     but now they seemed different and much less wild.

He checked the lake and the old swinging bridge,

     and a forgotten gold mine at the top of the ridge.

But no sign could be found of his dear Dolly Mae,

     how could he go on without her for even one more day?

So with his head in his hands, atop an old log in the dark,

     he let out a cry that came from deep within his heart.

He cried and he cried with a love pure and true,

     and all at once the meadow became quiet in a way he once knew.

He looked out across the meadow and saw a golden glow like before,

     then out stepped a mythical unicorn through the twinkling door.

With laughing little Dolly Mae holding onto his mane of snow,

     a beautiful white stallion carried the lost child across the meadow.

"Oh, Dolly Mae!" Tony cried in joy as he held his daughter once more,

     "I thought I'd lost you forever!" then he noticed the necklace she wore.

It was a small silver heart inscribed with a familiar name,

     Jupiter stood before them, now a stallion but a friend all the same.

As Tony reached out to touch Jupiter's nose with his hand,

     the stallion moved closer, and suddenly Tony could understand.   

A good deed once done by a boy for a young colt wearing a silver heart,

     was always remembered even though it was long ago and they've been apart.

Then with a farewell glance, the stallion vanished in the golden glow,

     and Tony and Dolly Mae waved goodbye to the unicorn white as snow.

In the years that followed, the story was often told,

     however, most people just won't believe in magical horses with hooves of gold.

But if you go to that special meadow on a moonlit night sometime,

     and if you let the child in you lead your heart and leave the grown up behind...

You may just see a wondrous sight you never thought you'd see

     of magical white unicorns dancing joyously.

The End