// Modeled after take (cycle str) from haskell
string
takeCycle( string &pattern, int length )
{
    string output = "";
    int tmpLen;

    // Use a temporary int to preserve `length`
    for ( tmpLen = length ; tmpLen > 0; tmpLen-- )
    {
        output.append( pattern, 0, 1 );
        rotateStringLeft( pattern );
    }

    return output;
}