Shopping always gets me into the holiday spirit (along with egg nog, rum, and pretty girls)! But I'm one sentence in, and I've already digressed. Anyway, I went holiday shopping around one of my favorite haunts—the Vale of Paradise. A lovely town really. Lots of quaint little boutiques and gift shops in the downtown area. I got to visit one of my favorite shops, in fact the very same one where I purchased my pineapple! I suppose technically it's a florist shop, but the store is filled with wonderful things like ornaments and end tables, popourri and pillows, chests, jesters, and festive figurines. I planned on buying Christmas decorations there, and indeed I did purchase two ornaments. But the thing that caught my eye was a lonely little kirin. He was tucked away in a giant armoire full of drawers and shelves of fabrics and candles and false artichokes. He was unpriced, and the woman at the counter had never seen it before. I took the little kirin home for a fair price, and he now sits here, spreading luck, wisdom, and prosperity for this month of December, in the Mercuriosity Shop.

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More snippets about the Kirin:

The mythical Kirin is part dragon, deer and horse. It represents both male and female attributes and is a paragon of virtue and piety, considerate of all.

The k'i-lin is the unicorn of China. It is considered one of the four fortunate animals (completed by the phoenix, tortoise, and dragon). Before the birth of great leaders (both rulers and spiritual) the k'i-lin was thought to appear. It was said to appear to Confucius' mother before his birth. He may also appear during a peaceful rule and thus be a sign of prosperity. The emperor Fu Hsi according to legend was given their written language by the unicorn when it appeared to him one day and he learned the lines upon the creature's back. In Japan he is known as the kirin.