ABSTRACT
This traditional version of the nursery rhyme (Opie and Opie, 1955, p. 42) begins with a joint task for man-as-boy and woman-as-girl. A mishap occurs, woman-asgirl is forgotten, woman-as-nurse tends man-as-boy’s physical wounds, womanas-mother avenges his emotional wounds, and woman-as-whore takes the initiative in the task of reconciliation. But what did Jill do before she came home? Did she lie senseless at the foot of the hill? Did she return alone to the top of the hill to complete the task? Or did she follow Jack to Dame Dob, perhaps to be accused of not ‘looking after’ him?
