Jack and Jill

Went up a hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after

There once was a lovely little boy Jack, and his best friend was a kind-hearted girl
named Jill. Jack lived with his family in a small house in the village, and Jill lived with
her family in a small house filled with big windows at the top of a hill. And every day that
their mommies said they could play together, Jack would run out of his house and to
the end of his street and up the winding path up the hill to see his friend Jill. And Jill
would wait at the windows, and call his name.

Sometimes she threw flowers down on his head as he climbed, so he’d arrive in a
rainbowed rain of petals. Sometimes she sang songs on the breeze, so the wings of
music lifted him to her. And sometimes, because they were good friends who loved
each other very much, she’d make surprises for him and he would love every surprise.
Sometimes she’d hide behind a door and jump out at him. Because he loved her so
much, he’d pretend to be frightened. Sometimes she’d bake him cookies so smells of
warmth and yumminess helped him climb. And even if he’d just had breakfast, he’d
pretend to be hungry.

One day, on a bright sunny morning, Jill was waiting for her friend Jack to arrive. Jill
was gathering the last of the season’s snow from the pale grass. She was building a
pile of snowballs for them to play with later. But two important things happened that day.
First, the sun was just a little warmer than it had been the day before. And second, Jack
was just a little later than when he usually began his climb. (His mommy had asked him
to clean up his toys before he left.) So as Jill waited for her friend and the sun climbed
higher in the sky, a small trickle of snowmelt began running down the hill.
Jack was almost up to Jill’s house when the snowmelt met the grass under his feet.
And he slipped! Jack went tumbling back down the hill. Jill heard his cries and threw
herself after him, somersaulting down until they found themselves at the bottom, out of
breath and muddy. [Note: this is not unlike the scene in The Princess Bride when
Buttercup pushes the Dread Pirate Roberts down the embankment, hears his cry:
“aaaaaaaaas youuuuuuuu wiiiiiiiiiish,” and realizes that he is in fact her beloved
Westley. In an act of true love she throws himself after him in a heap.]

At the bottom, Jill realized that Jack had a bad boo-boo on his forehead. So she helped
him to the front porch of the nearest house, which just happened to belong to Old
Dame Dob, the very best boo-boo kisser and bandage-maker in town. She had a secret
recipe. She made all of her bandages with vinegar and brown paper and then she
decorated them so all the kids could always choose their favorite designs. Jill and Old
Dame Dob helped Jack pick a nice Spiderman bandage for his forehead, and just for
that day only, they decided it would be best to play at Jack’s house instead of Jill’s.

But it wasn’t long before the best friends longed to play together at the top of the hill.
For spring was coming, and the most perfect place for spotting the first signs of spring
is always at the top of a hill, looking down into the empty valleys below. The trees and
plants reveal their first colors. And so together Jack and Jill returned to the top of the
hill, seeking first fruits and gathering flowers and welcoming the birds who returned
after winter.

One day after the birds had all built nests and the valleys had filled with green, Jill
called to her friend Jack. “Jack! Do you know the best part about living in a house at the
top of a hill at the beginning of summer? The valleys all around you fill with fireflies.”
And that was just was Jill wanted to watch. So she invited her dear friend Jack up to
her house at the top of the hill so they could watch the twinkling evening.

And every night that their mommies said they could play together Jack and Jill would
meet at the top of the hill to watch the valleys fill with the magical light of fireflies. They
loved the summer of fireflies but one day they realized that evenings were coming
faster and the fireflies were almost gone. Jack was heartbroken. But Jill hugged her
friend Jack and asked him: “Do you know the best part about living in a house at the
top of a hill when fall starts? You can watch all the leaves change to beautiful colors.”
Together, the best friends explored on nature walks and collected the most vivid
autumn leaves.

But the day came, as you knew it would, when the last leaves were fallen and a icy
wind scraped at the air. Ever cheerful, Jill turned to Jack and asked, “do you know
what’s the best part about living in a house at the top of the hill when winter comes?
The sledding!” As soon as the first snows fell, Jill invited her friend Jack to come play
on the top of the hill. And together they would slide down-down-down, and climb up-up-
up. And slide down-down-down, and climb up-up-up.

And when they climbed, they always, always held hands. And in that way the two best
friends took great care of each other, and nobody ever tumbled down again.