Getting 1 excerpt 3 headlines with query_posts

I’m having trouble properly nesting some content. I’d like to create a loop/query_post that publishes the most recent excerpt plus 3 headlines. Here is my crappy attempt:

<?php query_posts('showposts=4'); ?>
    <?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
    <?php the_excerpt(); ?>
    <ul>
<li><a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>">
    <?php the_title(); ?>
    </a></li>
     <?php endwhile; ?>
</ul>

Ultimately, I’d like for the end result to look like this:

https://img211.imageshack.us/img211/4987/excerptsxz1.gif

I’d love some feedback on how to get the list-items and
excerpt nested properly – thanks!