But when we look away from the fire to get some air and rest our eyes, we realize that everything around us is now an infinite repetition of things seen before: the tree trunks are columns supporting arches; each leaf becomes a little courtyard with three columns; on every trunk sits an owl with its head turned toward us, watching us; the trunk’s shadow is also an owl; on each leaf you can see all the leaves of the tree and all their shadows. But if we follow these repetitions still further, it becomes apparent that there are always other repetitions behind them: first of all, everything repeats itself in its own way – not only every leaf and every owl but also the trunks, the arches, and the columns – and then each repetition has its own particularities: the arrangement of each group of leaves differs from that of every other; there are four or five owls on some trunks but only one on others; it is not always the same owl we see in every shadow.