Figures can be transformed into one another by smooth stretching (before and after there are the same crossroad-points; there is a curve connecting points before if and only if there is a curve connecting those points after) vs. not so.
Left examples are topologically homeomorphic figures.
For some examples one can imagine pulling the shape "out of" the 2d square in 3d in order to transform it, and then laying it flat back in the 2d square. See BP810 for the version where this is not allowed.