Since Sarah and Jimmy were most excited about playing in the park, they ran ahead of the other kids. But before they knew it, the two younger kids were running back to them screaming.
"Oh dear," said Double D. "Shrieks of terror!"
"Dad's home!" exclaimed Ed.
"What's with you two?" asked Eddy.
"A dark, mysterious stranger is in the park!" exclaimed Jimmy, almost on the brink of hysteria.
"Really?" asked Jonny, beginning to get excited. "Holy cow, Plank! We're gonna meet a hobo!"
"What did he look like?" asked Nazz.
"Well, he was really tall . . . " Jimmy began.
"And he had on a black and white suit," said Sarah, who, for once in her life, seemed pretty freaked out herself.
"But that wasn't the scariest part," said Jimmy. "He was all thin and white as a sheet."
"Yeah!" said Sarah. "He almost looked like . . . a skeleton!"
This caught the Eds' attention. They looked at each other suspiciously.
"Black and white suit?" asked Ed.
"Tall, thin and white?" asked Double D.
"A skeleton . . . ?" asked Eddy. "You don't think . . . "
Double D turned back to the group. "Where exactly is this stranger?" he asked Sarah and Jimmy.
"He's asleep on the slide!" said Jimmy. "Come on!"
---
"Whoa . . . " Kevin murmured as he looked at the stranger peacefully sleeping on the slide. Even he was a little shocked.
"He reminds Rolf to fix his scarecrow," said Rolf.
"Why do you think he's here?" asked Nazz.
"I bet he's just a bum," said Lee. "I say we wake him up and punt him out of here!"
The only ones who weren't in awe were Ed Edd n Eddy. For the stranger on the slide wasn't a stranger to them. He was none other than the Pumpkin King himself, Jack Skellington! But one question still remained: Why was Jack in Peach Creek when Halloween was still days away?
"That idiot . . . " Eddy thought. "Stand back, folks," he said, pushing to the front. "We'll take care of this. Right, guys?"
"Oh, of course, Eddy," said Double D.
Ed just laughed.
"You're gonna wake him up?" asked Nazz.
"But he might hurt you!" said Jimmy.
"I don't know," said Double D. "Something tells me that he's harmless." He winked at the other two Eds, who winked back.
And with that, the Stouthearted Eds headed toward the sleeping Jack, the rest of the group carefully watching from a safe distance.
Eddy was the first one to reach Jack. He covered his mouth to stifle a giggle. Jack looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. He motioned to Double D and Ed to keep quiet, then cleared his throat.
"Hey, uh, you can't sleep here in the park, mister," Eddy said in a deep voice as he gently shook Jack's shoulder.
Jack stirred. "Wha . . . ?" he mumbled. "Oh, sorry . . . " He rubbed his eyes and sat up. That was when he saw the three familiar boys standing next to him. His face lit up. "Eddy! Double D! Ed!" he exclaimed. "Thank goodness! I was afraid I had gone to the wrong town."
"Nope, this is Peach Creek, buddy," said Eddy. "The town we call home. And speaking of which, why aren't you at your home? Halloween's days away!"
"Well, I came to tell you something," said Jack. "But I came at night and got lost. I ended up falling asleep on this bed. It wasn't very comfortable, though . . . "
"That's because it's a slide," said Double D.
Ed giggled. "Jack got lost!" he said.
Jack looked at the slide he was sitting on. "Oh . . . "
"So, what do want to talk to us about, Jackie-boy?" asked Eddy.
Meanwhile, the other kids were dumbstruck. The Eds seemed to know this guy. And even weirder, that guy knew the Eds!
"Check it out . . . " said Kevin.
"Where on earth did they meet that guy?" asked Nazz.
"You think he plays basketball?" asked Jonny. "He's tall enough, huh Plank?"
"I've got goosebumps, Sarah!" said Jimmy.
"Figures my brother would be friends with another weirdo . . . " said Sarah.
"It is so repulsive!" said Rolf. "It wants Rolf!" He stood in the entrance of the park. "YOU SHALL NOT HAVE ROLF'S LIVESTOCK!"
"Dude!" Kevin yelled.
But it was too late. Jack turned and saw the other kids, staring at him with wide eyes.
Jack turned back to the Eds. "Friends of yours?" he asked.
"Sort of," said Eddy.
"They look scared," said Jack. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Oh, of course not," said Double D. "It's just that I don't think they've ever seen an eight-foot skeleton before."
"Do you think you could convince them that I'm a nice skeleton?" Jack asked.
"Sure!" said Ed. "'Cause you're cool, Jack!"
Eddy walked toward the other kids. "Relax, guys," he said. "This is Jack. He's an old friend of ours."
"You could have told us that in the first place, dork!" said Kevin.
"When-and where-did you meet this guy?" asked Nazz.
"Funny you should mention that," said Eddy. "Remember Christmas a couple of years back, when someone put killer toys in everyone's houses?"
"Hey, yeah," said Marie.
"Man, those dolls we got were ugly," said May.
"And they had those nasty attitudes," said Lee.
"I'd like to pound the idiot responsible for that," said Sarah.
"But what does Rolf's possessed sheep shearer have to do with the tall, skeletal friend of the Ed boys?" asked Rolf.
"Hold on," said Kevin. "Are you saying that he . . . ?"
Jack shrugged and gave a sheepish smile. "My bad," he said.
"You did that?" Nazz asked in disbelief.
"Cool!" said Jonny. "Although Plank didn't really like those termites in a jar . . . "
"Yeah, well, I thought it was pretty funny," said Eddy. "You know, from my perspective . . . "
"You were in on that, dorks?" Kevin growled.
"I should have known my stupid brother and you idiots had something to do with it!" said Sarah.
Jack looked at the other kids inquisitively. "Are you sure these kids are your friends?" he asked the Eds.
"Ah, they're just mad," said Eddy. "You should be here on a bad day."
"Now people, let's not fly off the handle," said Double D. "Jack and Eddy also saved Christmas."
"Really," said Sarah.
"Well, duh," said Eddy. "Who do you think made Santa come back? And not only that, Jack saved me, Double D, and Ed."
"You're just trying to mess with us," said Kevin.
"Lay off, jock!" said Lee. She and her sisters stepped forward. "We believe you, boys," she said dreamily.
"Yeah," said Marie. "Double D wouldn't lie to us."
"How could you not believe a face like Big Ed's?" asked May.
Jack smiled. "Oh . . . " he said slyly. "You boys didn't tell me you had girlfriends."
Eddy's face went red. "WHAT?" he yelled.
"Perish the thought!" said Double D.
"Yucky, mushy girls!" said Ed.
The Kankers giggled.
"All right, all right," said Kevin. "We don't have time to argue right now. We've got a play to perfect."
"A play?" asked Jack. "Oh, I love plays! Can I watch you rehearse?"
Kevin sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. "Just don't get in the way, Bony!"
"You won't even know I'm here," said Jack.
"Where should we start, Kevin?" asked Double D.
Kevin looked at the script. "Okay . . . " he said. "Let's start right after Claude and Sheila's first conversation. Get ready to sing, Dorky."
"Dorky?" asked Jack.
"Sure thing, Kevin," said Eddy, climbing to the top of the slide.
"Everyone else in positions!" Kevin said.
The other kids scrambled out into the park and started playing like hippies. Jack, Double D, and Ed stayed near Eddy. They watched as the shortest Stouthearted Ed majestically stood at the top of the slide and slid down. Then he broke into song.
Eddy: Sodomy Father, why do these words sound so nasty? Masturbation
Fellatio
Cunnilingus
Pederasty
Can be fun
Join the holy orgy
Kama Sutra
Everyone!
If Jack had eyes, they would have been as wide as dinner plates. Had Eddy really said those things?
"EDDY!" said Double D. "You're supposed to sing the clean version!"
"Aw, come on, Double D!" said Eddy. "Live a little!"
"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you have no idea what any of those words mean," said Jack.
"Nope," said Eddy. "Why, do you?"
Jack gulped. "No," he said.
"YOU DO TOO!" Eddy barked. "All right, where's a dictionary?"
"No time!" said Kevin. "Next song!"
"Oh, right!" said Eddy. He ran to where Kevin, Nazz, and Jonny were on the main path through the park. It was Kevin's turn to show his abilities.
Kevin: Oh . . .
Once upon a looking-for-Donna-time
There was a sixteen-year-old virgin
Eddy, Nazz, Jonny: Oh Donna oh oh Donna oh oh oh
Looking for my Donna
Kevin: I just got back from looking for Donna
San Francisco
Psychedelic urchin
Eddy, Nazz, Jonny: Oh Donna oh oh Donna oh oh oh
Looking for my Donna
Kevin: Have you seen
My sixteen-year-old tattooed woman
Heard a story
She got busted for her beauty
Peach Creek Kids: Oh oh oh
Oh oh!
Kevin: Once upon a looking-for-Donna-time
There was a sixteen-year-old virgin
Eddy, Jonny, Nazz: Oh Donna oh oh Donna oh oh oh
Looking for my Donna
Kevin: I've been to India and saw the yogi light
Jonny: In South America the Indian smoke glows bright
Eddy: I'm reincarnated and so are we all
Nazz: And in this lifetime we'll rise
Before we fall
Kevin, Jonny, Eddy, Nazz: Before we fall
Kevin: Once upon a looking-for-Donna-time
There was a sixteen-year-old virgin
Eddy, Jonny, Nazz: Oh Donna oh oh Donna oh oh oh
Looking for my Donna
Kevin: And I'm going to show her
Life on earth can be sweet
Gonna lay my mutated self at her feet
And I'm gonna love her, make love to her
Jonny: Till the sky turns brown
Eddy: I'm evolving I'm evolving
Nazz: Through the drugs
That you put down
Kevin: Once upon a looking-for-Donna-time
There was a sixteen-year-old virgin
Eddy, Jonny, Nazz: Oh Donna oh oh Donna oh oh oh
Looking for my Donna
Kevin, Eddy, Jonny, Nazz: Looking for my Donna
Peach Creek Kids: Donna!
Once again, everyone posed, signifying the end of the song. This time, Jack stood up and clapped.
"Wonderful!" he said. "That was much better . . . I think." Then he stood up. "Oh! I just remembered!" He ran over to the three Eds. "Listen, can I talk to you three in private?" he whispered. "It's urgent."
"Uh . . . okay, sure," said Eddy. He looked at Kevin. "Kev, we need to take five."
"All right," said Kevin. "You've got five minutes."
The Eds and Jack walked over near the sandbox while the others kept a reasonable distance.
"So, what do you want to talk to us about, Jack?" asked Double D.
Jack frowned. That was never a good sign.
This made Eddy frown too. "Jack, what's wrong?"