
staircase*
	Up he went -- very quickly at first -- then more slowly -- then
	in a little while even more slowly than that -- and finally,
	after many minutes of climbing up the endless stairway, one
	weary foot was barely able to follow the other.  Milo suddenly
	realized that with all his effort he was no closer to the top
	than when he began, and not a great deal further from the
	bottom.  But he struggled on for a while longer, until at last,
	completely exhausted, he collapsed onto one of the steps.
	"I should have known it," he mumbled, resting his tired legs
	and filling his lungs with air.  "This is just like the line
	that goes on forever, and I'll never get there."
	"You wouldn't like it much anyway," someone replied gently.
	"Infinity is a dreadfully poor place.  They can never manage to
	make ends meet."
		[ The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster ]
