[Illustration]
I happened to be paying a call at the house of a lady, when I took up
from a table two lovely squares of brocade. They were beautiful
specimens of Eastern workmanship--both of the same design, a delicate
chequered pattern.
"Are they not exquisite?" said my friend. "They were brought to me by a
cousin who has just returned from India. Now, I want you to give me a
little assistance. You see, I have decided to join them together so as
to make one large square cushion-cover. How should I do this so as to
mutilate the material as little as possible? Of course I propose to make
my cuts only along the lines that divide the little chequers."
[Illustration]
I cut the two squares in the manner desired into four pieces that would
fit together and form another larger square, taking care that the
pattern should match properly, and when I had finished I noticed that
two of the pieces were of exactly the same area; that is, each of the
two contained the same number of chequers. Can you show how the cuts
were made in accordance with these conditions?