Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king's horses

And all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

So, I ask, what's going on in this nursery
rhyme? The hands are up. Well, like, this egg falls off the wall and if you
study biology or physics you know you can never put an egg back together again.
I mean, like it's common sense.

Who says it's an egg? I ask.

Of course it's an egg. Everyone knows
that.

Where does it say it's an
egg?

They're thinking. They're searching the
text for egg, any mention, any hint of egg. They won't give in.

There are more hands and indignant
assertions of egg. All their lives they knew this rhyme and there was never a
doubt that Humpty Dumpty was an egg. They're comfortable witht he idea of egg
and why do I have to come along and destroy everything with all this
analysis.

I'm not destroying. I just want to know
where you got the idea that Humpty is an egg.

Because Mr. McCourt, it's all in the
pictures and whoever drew the first picture musta known the guy who wrote the
poem or he'd never have made it an egg.

All right. If you're content with the ide
of egg we'll let it be but I know the future lawyers in this class will never
accept egg where there is no evidence of egg.