ONE UNICORN

A mechanically plotted quasi-legend, quasi-fable--with garishly overworked pictures. The story, told at tiresome length, goes like this: a king who has spared his daughter all pain learns that, as a consequence, ""her heart will be broken at an early age."" (""In the midst of happiness there will always be a reminder of pain. Man cannot know the deepest secret of the balance of all things, but be satisfied in knowing that the pain will make her wise."") In time the Princess Alicia pricks her Finger; her tear falls into a dewdrop, and the puddle grows into a unicorn. On meeting handsome Prince Nicholas, the princess neglects the unicorn--and when she lies to him too, the unicorn dies and turns back into ""a glistening of dewdrops."" In (more) time, the young daughter of Alicia and Nicholas dreams of a unicorn. ""For each person whose heart is filled with innocence and love, there can be one unicorn."" The illustrations are hideous--a thicket of banal drawing and comic-book color.