THE DODO

First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, (‘the exact shape doesn’t matter,’ it said) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no ‘One, two, three, and away,’ but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out:

—The race is over!

(Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, chapter III)