It was a beautiful animal, but strange-looking. It had scales like a dragon. It had a beard and a long mane and tail. Its coat was a rainbow of bright colors—red, blue, yellow, black, and white. Its long horn was made of pure silver. Ki-lins were kind. Ki-lins would never fight with other animals. They never even stepped on an ant. In fact, a soft piece of skin grew over the tip of their horns so that they could never harm anyone, even by mistake. The great emperor Fu Hsi stared into the Yellow River. A ki-lin splashed out of the water. The emperor was amazed! The ki-lin knelt down in front of the emperor. On its back was a scroll. The emperor spread out the scroll and saw a map of his kingdom. Strange marks were drawn next to the rivers and towns. The emperor stared at the marks for a long time. Finally he figured out that they were writing. The ki-lin had given him a written language. Now his people would be able to write down and remember everything that happened to them. Whenever a ki-lin was seen, something wonderful happened.
