Jack Be Nimble

Jack Be Nimble is an English nursery rhyme first published in the early 19th century. The practice of jumping over a candlestick was both a sport as well as a form of fortune telling. The belief was that good luck was to be ahead should you jump over a flame and not extinguish it.

Adaptations

• Mother Goose Stories used the rhyme as inspiration for an episode of the series.

• William Wegman adapted the nursery rhyme for a Sesame Street insert featuring his dogs. (First: Episode 3526)

References

• The character of Jack Be Nimble has been featured many times on Sesame Street, being interviewed by Kermit the Frog for a "Sesame Street News Flash" segment, and appearing in multiple episodes.

• In a 1993 episode Jack goes to Finders Keepers to find something new to jump over.

• He was interviewed by Prairie Dawn in a segment for "Nursery Rhyme News," where he doesn't have the energy to jump over his candlestick. (First: Episode 4107)

• Jack's Big Jump was the plot of a 2009 episode of Sesame Street, where the fabled jumper attempted to clear eight candlesticks.

• Leela tapes Jack jumping over a candlestick set up by Elmo and Rosita in an episode of Sesame Street.

• Lefty the Salesman sells Jack a candlestick in Storybook ABCs.

• Telly Monster can identify Jack Be Nimble by sight, when he's learning to read in episode 3081.
• Jack appears in the storybook Around the Corner on Sesame Street.

• Muppet Babies' Classic Nursery Rhymes features Baby Animal in place of Jack jumping over a candlestick.

• The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes & Fairy Tales also features the Muppet Babies taking on the rhyme.

• Bert and Ernie act out the ryhme in The Sesame Street Library Volume 10, which was reprinted in The Sesame Street Treasury Volume 1.

• In a nod to his "first and last" sketch, Grover takes on Jack in a hobbyhorse race in Sesame Street's Mother Goose Rhymes.