There were three Medieval kingdoms on the shores of a lake. There was an
island in the middle of the lake, which the kingdoms had been fighting
over for years. Finally, the three kings decided that they would send
their knights out to do battle, and the winner would take the island.
The night before the battle, the knights and their squires pitched camp
and readied themselves for the fight.
The first kingdom had 12 knights, and each knight had 5 squires, all of
whom were busily polishing armor, brushing horses, and cooking food.
The second kingdom had 20 knights, and each knight had 10 squires.
Everyone at that camp was also busy preparing for battle.
At the camp of the third kingdom, there was only one knight, with his
squire. This squire took a large pot and hung it from a looped rope in a
tall tree. He busied himself preparing the meal, while the knight
polished his own armor.
When the hour of the battle came, the three knights sent their squires out
to fight (this was too trivial a matter for the knights to join in). The
battle raged, and when the dust cleared, the only person left was the
lone squire from the third kingdom, having defeated the squires from the
other two kingdoms.
This just proved that the squire of the high pot
and noose is equal to the sum of the squires of the other two sides.
