Each side of a triangle is extended in the same clockwise direction by the length of the given side as shown in the figure.  How many times the area of the triangle, obtained by connecting the endpoints,   is the area of the original triangle?
[img]https://cdn.artofproblemsolving.com/attachments/1/c/a169d3ab99a894667caafee6dbf397632e57e0.png[/img]
1. **Label the vertices and extend the sides:**
   Let the vertices of the original triangle be \( A, B, \) and \( C \). Extend each side of the triangle in the clockwise direction by the length of the given side. This means:
   - Extend \( AB \) to \( B' \) such that \( AB' = AB \).
   - Extend \( BC \) to \( C' \) such that \( BC' = BC \).
   - Extend \( CA \) to \( A' \) such that \( CA' = CA \).

2. **Identify the new triangle:**
   The new triangle formed by connecting the endpoints of the extended sides is \( A'B'C' \).

3. **Calculate the areas of the smaller triangles:**
   - Since \( AC = CA' \) and \( B'A = AB \), the triangle \( B'AC \) is congruent to the original triangle \( ABC \). Therefore, the area of \( B'AC \) is equal to the area of \( ABC \), i.e., \( [B'AC] = [ABC] \).
   - Similarly, since \( AB = B'C \) and \( C'A = CA \), the triangle \( A'BC \) is congruent to the original triangle \( ABC \). Therefore, the area of \( A'BC \) is equal to the area of \( ABC \), i.e., \( [A'BC] = [ABC] \).
   - Finally, since \( BC = C'A \) and \( AB' = AB \), the triangle \( AB'C \) is congruent to the original triangle \( ABC \). Therefore, the area of \( AB'C \) is equal to the area of \( ABC \), i.e., \( [AB'C] = [ABC] \).

4. **Sum the areas of the smaller triangles:**
   - The triangle \( A'B'C' \) is divided into 7 smaller triangles: \( ABC, B'AC, A'BC, AB'C, A'B'C, A'BC', \) and \( AB'C' \).
   - Each of these smaller triangles has the same area as the original triangle \( ABC \).

5. **Calculate the total area of the new triangle:**
   - Since there are 7 smaller triangles, each with an area equal to \( [ABC] \), the total area of the new triangle \( A'B'C' \) is \( 7 \times [ABC] \).

Conclusion:
The area of the triangle obtained by connecting the endpoints of the extended sides is 7 times the area of the original triangle.

The final answer is \( \boxed{ 7 } \).