Jack and Jill Went Up A Hill

Laughing Jill - She Gets Her Come-uppance for Laughing at Jack's Misfortune

This illustration focuses on the scene inside a cottage, rather than depicting Jack and Jill tumbling down a hill, or carrying a bucket of water. It most likely corresponds to versions of the Jack and Jill rhyme that include the character Dame Dob:

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

Then up Jack got
And home did trot
As fast as he could caper;
To old Dame Dob,
Who patched his nob
With vinegar and brown paper.

When Jill came in,
How she did grin
To see Jack’s paper plaster;
Her mother, vexed,
Did whip her next,
For laughing at Jack’s disaster.

In this illustration Jack's head is wrapped with brown paper, and Jill is pointing and smiling at him, while old Dame Dob looks at Jill disapprovingly. The interior of the cottage is very humble, and the characters seem to be placed in medieval times. The floor is brick and the window is constructed with small, thick blocks of glass. Jack is wearing brown stockings and Jill has a laced vest. Both old Dame Dob and Jill wear caps on their heads and long skirts. Perhaps this version of the rhyme sends a message of retribution for bad behavior (what goes around comes around).