now he heard for the third time almost exactly what he had heard twice in twelve hours

I've noticed an interesting little phenomenon (in myself and others): when I tell a story over and over to different people, I often find myself using the same words and phrases each time (even though they are rarely the most brilliant words). It's not a matter of necessity (I do have more word choices at my disposal, and suspect I could come up with a more interestingly-told version once in a while); perhaps just laziness.