As They Like It

By Daniel Robb

'OK, guys, take your seats," I said to my 10th graders as they began to settle in at 8 a.m. in the basement classroom. "Today, as promised, I am going to tell you a story—a very old story. And it won't take too long, because it's a pretty simple story."

Thirty pairs of eyes locked onto my head, at least momentarily interested, as I paced slowly in front of the blackboard.

"See, long ago, there was this kingdom, on the coast of an ocean, and it was ruled over by a guy named Ham-Ice." (At the time, many of the most influential rappers used "ice" as part of their stage names, as in Ice Cube and Ice-T, so I co-opted this device for the more important names of the players.) "Ham-Ice," I continued, "was a good king who ruled benevolently and looked out for justice in his land. He had a brother named Claudi-Ice and a wife named QTrude and a son named the same as he—Ham-Ice. And as he ruled, things went along pretty well. You have any idea...