They noticed that virginity was needed

To trap the unicorn in every case,

But not that, of those virgins who succeeded,

A high percentage had an ugly face.

The hero was as daring as they thought him,

But his peculiar boyhood missed them all;

The angel of a broken leg had taught him

The right precautions to avoid a fall.

So in presumption they set forth alone

On what, for them, was not compulsory:

And stuck halfway to settle in some cave

With desert lions to domesticity;

Or turned aside to be absurdly brave,

And met the ogre and were turned to stone.