Sharing the jackpot

So, I'm holding the Canterbury jackpot. I know the hidden identity of the Pilgrims! Exciting? Can you imagine? I felt like I'd burst! I had to tell somebody. Fortunate, my husband was in the next room. He was a mathematician, a computer nerd who'd never read Chaucer. But he catered to my obvious excitement when I told him I had something I needed to share.
     With patience on his part and eagerness on mine, I made my first attempt to have someone else "see" what I see. After considerable explanation, when he finally reached the aha! moment, he responded to Chaucer's cunning with spontaneous joy for me. How wonderful!
     It was clear, from that first attempt, that I had to develop a much more concise explanation. I wanted to show the whole world Chaucer's amazing design. The literary world would be astonished, stimulated--as soon as I was able to have the design make sense to them.
      My explanation would have to be refined before I could publish it. I started by constructing a "game." I'd give Chaucer's clues--what he'd hidden in the descriptions of the pilgrims--to see if others recognized what was being disguised.
     I tried the game with my relatives at a family gathering. That version (plan A) was only adequate. After working it over, I presented plan B to a small group of friends from church. That went well. But the supreme test came when my friend Judy suggested I try it on her high school English class.
     What an afternoon that was! I don't know if it was more exhilarating for the students or me. That exhilaration, however, was not immediate. When I finished laying out the game plan, the room was utterly silent. After waiting a couple of moments, Judy prompted them--"Don't be shy. What do you think is the answer?" That's all the encouragement it took. The room erupted. A bit of insight, of recognition came first from one student, then another and another. They could "see" Chaucer's ingenious format.
     Next time, before I hand you the answer, I'll lay some groundwork. That way you might have the thrill of visualizing the pattern of Chaucer's scheme before I reveal it.