Attempts to Capture and Tame a Unicorn: (21) Sudoku, Part Two

It took a few weeks to really get going.  I set up new puzzles on each visit, starting them off myself, the unicorn helping out, slowly doing more and more.  I helped when she struggled, looking up for assistance.  And I fed her oats to encourage, at first just when she did something but eventually when she completed a puzzle.

At the start with she lost interest once a puzzle was completed, feeling that was enough to beat me, and she would wander away once the oats were eaten and I had tried nothing at all to kidnap her.  I would start up a new one to try and regain her interest. 

As time wore on, though, she got more into it and would nudge me when done to ask for a new one.  I would sit and read while she did, oats at the ready.  Eventually she would ignore these and instead pick up the Sudoku book in her mouth and drop it at my feet, or if I hadn't even noticed she was done, in my lap, getting quite irate if I took a long time.

Evenings became pretty bad as she bit and held onto my sleeve in order to try and keep me there, and I had to pull her off and leave her behind.  She ripped several sleeves off shirts and jumpers and, one time, even came prepared with sticks so I could make a fire and stay after dark.

By then she was waiting for me each week (tapping her foot impatiently) to set up her first puzzle of the day and I began to experiment with trying to distract her as she played.  I tried offering her oats, which sometimes caused her to snack for a few moments before returning.  Then I tried making noise and she would snort at me to be quiet.  And I tried throwing fallen twigs and leaves at her and she stamped her feet.

Eventually, though, I did these things and there was no reaction at all.  During play she was entirely oblivious to me, having learned to block me out, and she only acknowledged me when she was between puzzles.  I knew then that it was time to pull the rope.