Bridget Nickel, age 11, of E1 Toro, Calif., for her question:

DO UNICORNS REALLY EXIST?

The unicorn is strictly an imaginary animal. It looks like a horse and it has a single, long, spiral horn in the middle of its forehead. It also has the tail of a lion.

Unicorns are often mentioned in medieval legends and fables. They are also mentioned in early Bibles, but the word has now been translated as wild ox.

 Ancient Greek and Roman myths mention the unicorn. The name means ''one horn.'' In early pictures, the animal was usually given a white body, a red head and blue eyes. It's hind legs were made to look like those of an antelope.  

In early paintings, artists often placed the unicorn beside the figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The animal was thought to be a sign of purity.