my (@first, @second);

{

	local *FILE1;

	local *FILE2;

	open(FILE1, $file1) || die "Can't open $file1: $!";

	open(FILE2, $file2) || die "Can't open $file2: $!";

	@first = reverse split(//, <FILE1>);

	@second = reverse split(//, <FILE2>);

	close FILE1;

	close FILE2;

}



while (@first) {

	my $couplet = shift @first . shift @second;

	print "$couplet ";

}