Was Fetching a Pail of Water Going Too Far?

One of the most iconic, recognizable lines in all of literature is from the children’s nursery rhyme, “Jack and Jill.” We all know the boy and girl went up the hill . . . to fetch a pail of water. That was written about 1765, according to Wikipedia. Turn to my book, Day 16.  On page 161 Roger is trying to make inroads with the cute teenager Laura Gwynne at the Big Sur campground. He’s looking for a chance to talk to her without any family around, to ask for a date. “She started down the footpath, bucket in hand, to fetch a pail of water.” Now, I’m not apologizing for borrowing that line. Nor am I inferring this is plagiarism, please. But was it appropriate for me, the author, to lift such a well-known phrase and drop it into my story? I don’t exactly lose sleep at night over this, but I keep wondering if keeping it in the final version was it too cutesy and lightweight and pompous . . . or is it a savvy rendering? Does the way I use it breathe new life into the Jack and Jill connection? I must say, the words slid right into place from the start and never budged once over the years—enduring many rewrites and re-edits. It’s like a modern, updated use of that line, so I say it stays. I’m actually paying homage to the original.