He discovered the obscure creature in a book, and knew instantly that it would make him rich. The almiraj was a small, rabbit-like creature with a single pearlescent horn like a unicorn.
He bet the rodents would be easier to catch than their equine cousins, and chartered a ship to the distant, windswept island they inhabited. He was already planing on how he would spend his wealth after selling the fake unicorn horns.
Unfortunately, the almiraj were actually relatives of the mongoose, and shared their island home with a species of huge, venomous serpent that his book failed to mention.

“Al-Miraj and Serpent from Walters Manuscript” by Zakariya ibn Muhammad Qazwini is marked with CC0 1.0.

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