Jack caught in action by Leela.
Wegman's dogs do Jack.
Ernie and Bert act out the rhyme.
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.
