Every day Abba Paul plaited a new basket,

for which there were no markets in the desert,

so he burned them in a bonfire at the end of the year,

and again began his termless labors.

High roller Sisyphus was also an incurable workaholic.

One day Sisyphus met Paul, who was weaving

yet another basket. He asked if he could put his boulder

in Paul's basket. Paul replied that his baskets were not

big enough for boulders. 'Then what are they good for?'

Sisyphus wondered. 'For nothing,' Paul responded.

'They are good for nothing.'

'That's what I work for too!'Sisyphus quipped.

'Then go ahead and put your nothing in my basket,' Paul offered.

'But what should I do with my boulder?'

Sisyphus pressed. 'Why not burn it?' Paul suggested.

'Do boulders burn?' Sisyphus wondered.

'They do when they're in my basket,' Paul replied.

'But you said that my boulder won't fit in your baskets,'

Sisyphus recalled. 'That was before I burned them,'

the monk replied.