"I am not going to do anything to you. I am going to try to help you in the process of becoming yourself."

"My best self, I expected you to say. A good little boy."

"Your real self may not be a good little boy. It would be very fortunate if that were so. Your real self may be something very disagreeable and unpleasant."

Robertson Davies, The Manticore (1972).

A fabulous monster having the body of a lion, the head of a man, porcupine's quills, and the tail or sting of a scorpion.

OED

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A monstrous creature which inhabits the forests in Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. The manticore, considered to be the most dangerous predator in these regions, has the body of a lion and a head with human resemblance. The mouth is filled with three rows of razor-sharp teeth and the scaled tail ends in a ball with poisonous darts. The monster stalks through the forest in search of humans. Upon an encounter with a human, the manticore fires a volley of darts at the victim, who dies immediately. This unfortunate person is devoured completely, even the bones and clothing, as well as the possessions this person carried, vanish. When a villager has completely disappeared, this is considered proof of the presence of a manticore.

"Manticore." Encyclopedia Mythica. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/manticore.html
[Accessed May 21st, 2003.]

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