"The tip of his cue struck the cue ball,
the cue ball hit the three, and the three-ball,
red and silent, rolled up the green table,
hit the cushion, rolled gently down, and
into the corner pocket."
— Ending of The Hustler , by Walter Tevis
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959).
The plot, and the ending, of the book differ
somewhat from those of the picture.