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Julius Caesar,
Act 2, Scene 1, line 204

Note to JULIUS CAESAR, 2.1.204-206, 'unicorns may be betray'd with trees, / And bears with glasses, elephants with holes / Lions with toils'



This passage is a mixture of fact and fiction, all thought to be fact in Shakespeare's time.
How to catch a unicorn:
Find a sturdy tree. Stand in front of the tree and provoke the unicorn to attack. Duck behind the tree.
Unicorn with its horn stuck in a tree.
Illustration by Carl Offerdinger


How to make a bear stand still so you can shoot it:
According to T.F. Thiselton Dyer (Folk-lore of Shakespeare, 1883, p. 155), "Bears, in days gone by, are reported to have been surprised [ambushed] by means of a mirror, which they could gaze on, affording their pursuers an opportunity of taking the surer aim."
Bear looking at its reflection in a mirror.
Photo from the website of the North American Bear Center


How to capture elephants:
Dig a very large pitfall and lure elephants into it.
Mother and baby elephants in a pit.
Photo from the website of the India's Endangered


How to trap a lion or tiger:
Lure the big cat onto a net; pull the net over it.