A hunter met two shepherds, one of whom had three loaves of bread and the other, five loaves. All the loaves were the same size. The three men agreed to share the eight loaves equally between them.
After they had eaten, the hunter gave the shepherds eight bronze coins as payment for his meal. How should the two shepherds fairly divide this money?
The shepherd who had three loaves should get one coin and the shepherd who had five loaves should get seven coins.
If there were eight loaves and three men, each man ate two and two-thirds loaves. So the first shepherd gave the hunter one third of a loaf and the second shepherd gave the hunter two and one-third loaves. The shepherd who gave one-third of a loaf should get one coin and the one who gave seven-thirds of a loaf should get seven coins.