04: Details

Fiddler allows Marble and Spruce in with pleasure. It gestures grandly with three of its legs into its abode.

Welcome in, my dear rectangles!

Marble excitedly wheels into the main room.

Thank you so much for having us over! I'm Marble, pleased to meet you!

Spruce, however, stops for a moment in the doorway.

I'm sorry, but I'm actually a square. My name is Spruce. Thank you for the invitation.

Fiddler chuckles once again at Spruce's correction.

I know, I know. But it wouldn't be very efficient of me to call you all by the name of your most specific group, would it now? And besides, a square is just a very special kind of rectangle anyway, my dear Spruce.

Spruce pauses in contemplation; this had never occured to it before. It then turns to Marble.

Does that mean I can do the same kinds of things tha you can?

Marble grins and replies in affirmation.

That's right – only you get to do everything with the same side length, instead of having to keep track of two different ones.

Fiddler chimes in with an explanation that brings its new friend Brick into the conversation.

Well, that's not quite it. It's true that Spruce has all the same side lengths, yes. But Spruce is just like you if you made one side length equal to the other, no? And take our dear Brick as well – it has three different side lengths!

After hearing this, Brick suddenly starts to understand, and interrupts with its realization.

That's because we're all Shapes! We have sides, and area, and perimeters, but different kinds of Shapes do different things with them.