word list from cin?

[KarlisRepsons]

How to read in a list of words from cin (using whitespace
as separator is ok)?

list<string> readStrings()
{
   list<string> ret;
   while (true)
   {
      string s;
      cin >> s;
      cout << " <" << s << "> ";
      if (s == ".")
      {
         return ret;
      }
      ret.push_back(s);
   }
}

This function is just making fun of me: in one application
it works ok, but in another it magically needs TWO '.' just
to return!

[KarlisRepsons]

My misunderstanding, sorry.