Alice and Amanda stepped out of the door of the tree and came out of a door in another tree on the other side. They found themselves in another wood in which everything was tinted a light shade of purple.

Alice looked around and seemed to be disappointed. "Well, I don't believe we are truly out of the woods yet after all!" she exclaimed.

"Well, we are at least in another place," Amanda said observantly. "And I kind of like this one better because purple is my favorite color, and I never saw purple grass and trees before!"

Just then, they heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them which were followed shortly by a soft whistling. They stood still and waited for the source to come to them. Then they saw a boy who looked to be a few years older than them, though wasn't much taller, carrying a hatchet on his shoulder. When he saw them he stopped and looked at them in great curiosity.

"Hello," he said. "What are you two girls doing in these woods all alone? You don't live near here, do you?"

"No, indeed," said Alice. "We just came here, from somewhere else. We don't even know where we are now. Could you please tell us?"

"You're in the Gilikin Country in the Land of Oz," he replied. "My name is Tippertaurius, but you may just call me Tip."

"How do you do?" said Alice. "My name is Alice, and this is my friend Amanda."

"Could you help us find or way out of here?" asked Amanda.

"I was actually on my way out myself," replied Tip. "I was just here cutting some branches. Come with me."

So they followed him and he led them to a wheelbarrow that was filled with branches cut off from old trees, and also a large log was in the middle of them. He took hold of the wheelbarrow and pushed it forward as they followed him out of the woods.

"What exactly are you going to do with all this wood you've cut?" asked Amanda curiously.

"I'm gonna build something," replied Tip.

"What are you going to build?" asked Alice.

"A body," replied Tip, "for a pumpkin I've just carved a face into."

"A jack-o-lantern?" inquired Amanda.

"Yes," replied Tip. "And giving it a body would make it complete for just what I want to do with it."

"And what do you want to do with it?" asked Amanda.

"I want to scare Mombi so that she'll squeal louder than our pig does when I pull her tail," Tip said gleefully.

"Why would you want to scare Mombi?" inquired Alice. "And who is she exactly?"

"She has been my guardian from birth, but she is as mean as a rattlesnake, and in fact she is a witch. She likes to scare me in a lot of ways, so now I've decided its my time to pay her back," Tip replied.

They then left the woods behind them and came out onto a hill on which they saw a cottage with a fence around it. They followed Tip into the yard where he showed them the pumpkin he had carved a face into.

"It looks very well carved," said Alice. "I especially like its smile."

"And it will stand out all the more on him once I have constructed his body," Tip announced proudly.

So then Tip set about making the body from the wood he had gathered. He used the old log as the torso, and then fastened the branches for the arms and legs onto it with wooden pegs he crafted. When he was done he and the girls stood him up and looked up at him in admiration.

"A job well done on him, if I do say so myself," Tip said proudly.

"Oh yes," said Alice. "Now, perhaps if he had some clothes on he would be even better."

"You're right," agreed Tip. "I know just where to get them."

He then went inside the cottage and came out with a set of clothes and a pair of old shoes. Then he and the girls put the red shirt, pink and white spotted vest, and purple trousers and shoes onto the pumpkinhead's body. They then looked at him again with much delight.

"Why, he looks almost like an actual person!" Alice exclaimed in wonder.

"He does at that!" agreed Tip. And so good a man must have a name of his own. So we'll call him Jack Pumpkinhead!"

They then carried the figure they had made to the side of the road and had him lean on a wooden branch.

"Mombi is sure to see him when she comes home," Tip said excitedly. "She left this morning to see Dr. Nikkidik, the Crooked Magician. She should be back any minute now. In fact, I think I hear her coming! Come on, let's hide! Quick!"

So the three of them rushed behind some bushes nearby and peeked out in-between the branches and waited anxiously. Soon they saw a short and bent old hag coming up the path hobbling on a crooked cane. She saw the pumpkinheaded figure by the roadside.

"Good evening, sir!" she said. Then turned swiftly around and staggered backward with a loud cry of fright.

"It worked! I knew it would!" Tip whispered to the girls with a devilish grin.

They then watched as the old hag lifted her cane to the pumpkinhead as if aiming to smash it. But then she stopped and lowered her cane as she seemed to be pondering something. She then searched through a basket she had at her side and then took out a small box from it out of which took a handful of what looked like sparkling dust and threw it onto the pumpkinhead so that it coursed over his entire body.

"What is she doing?" Amanda whispered fearfully.

Then they all watched as Mombi lifted up her left hand and cried out, "Weaugh!" Then raised her right hand and cried out, "Teaugh!" Then extended both hands upward and cried out, "Peaugh!"

Then, much to their astonishment they watched as the pumpkinheaded figure trembled from head to foot, and then straightened and turned towards Mombi, who let out another loud cry of fright at this.

"Don't yell like that!" said the pumpkinhead putting his hands to the sides of his head. "Do you think I'm deaf?"

Mombi now let out a loud cackle of glee and ecstasy. She lifted her walking stick up in the air and began to dance a jig all around the pumpkinhead.

"He lives! He lives!" she exclaimed again and again. "He lives!"

"She's brought Jack Pumpkinhead to life!" said Amanda in a loud whisper.

"She truly has!" Alice said.

Tip then began to laugh out loud, and before either of the girls could stop him it was too late. Mombi heard him. She went up to the bushes and seized Tip by his collar and dragged him out with her towards the cottage.

"You naughty, sneaking, wicked boy!" she shrieked. "I'll teach you to spy on my secrets and to make fun of me!"

"I wasn't making fun of you," said Tip. "I was laughing at old Pumpkinhead! Isn't he a sight?"

"I hope you are not reflecting on my personal appearance," said Jack Pumpkinhead as he was listening to them.

"I'll deal with you later, Pumpkinhead!" snapped Mombi in Jack's direction. "I'll deal with you right away though, Tippertaurius!" she added nastily to the cringing boy beside her.

"What are you going to do to me?" asked Tip fearfully.

Just then Mombi opened the cottage door and then closed almost a soon as when she had pulled tip inside with her.

Amanda and Alice slowly came out of their hiding places. They then crept up to the door and tried to listen to anything happening inside.

"I don't want to be a marble statue!" they heard Tip exclaim.

"That doesn't matter; I want you to be one," they heard Mombi reply evilly.

"But what use will I be then?" asked Tip. "There won't be anyone to work for you."

"I'll make the Pumpkinhead work for me," replied Mombi.

"Why don't you change me into a goat, or a chicken?" he asked anxiously. "You can't do anything with a marble statue."

"Oh yes I can," retorted Mombi. "I'm going to plant a flower garden next spring, and I'll put you in the middle of it, for an ornament. I wonder why I hadn't thought of it before; you've been a bother to me for years."

"Oh no!" gasped Alice.

"We just can't let that happen to him!" exclaimed Amanda.

"But what can we do for him?" inquired Alice.

"We can rescue him," said Amanda.

"But how?" asked Alice.

"We'll have to get him away from Mombi," replied Amanda.

"But won't Mombi easily be able to capture us and then turn us into marble statues as well?" Alice asked fearfully.

"A good point," said Amanda. Then after thinking on it for a moment she said decidedly, "We'll just have to wait until it's dark in a couple hours and then we'll sneak into the house and get Tip out of there without Mombi noticing."

"I truly hope we will be able to," said Alice.

And so they waited the couple hours until the sun had just set behind the clouds and the stars began to come out. Then they crept quietly up to the cottage door and Amanda attempted to open it, only to find it had locked tight.

"The door is locked!" she moaned.

"And with no key or anything to pick the lock with," Alice said miserably.

Amanda then suddenly seem to have had an idea of her own. She looked over at Jack Pumpkinhead, who had been standing silently beside the barn next to them the whole time.

"Yes, we do," she said brightly. "We have Jack over here."

"But how can he help us?" asked Alice.

"Very easily," replied Amanda.

She then went up to Jack, with Alice following, and said, "Jack, we need you to do a little favor for us right now."

"What do you need me for?" asked Jack, sounding very interested.

"Come with us to the door first," replied Amanda.

So he came with them and then she whispered her instructions to him carefully. "Just stick your longest and most pointed finger into this keyhole right here. Good. Now turn it around inside of it. Yes, that's it. Well done! Now, it should be able to open for us, I hope."

She then tried the door again, and this time found to her immense relief and satisfaction that it opened quite easily.

The three of them then stepped cautiously into the cottage. They looked around for a moment and quickly spotted Tip sitting in a corner of the room tied up into a chair with his arms behind its back. There was a burning candle on a table beside him along with a glass vial that was emitting a series of strong and nauseating fumes from it. When Tip saw them come in his eyes lit up with relief a moment and then with worry.

"It's all right Tip. It's us," whispered Amanda. "We're here to get you out of this mess."

"Be quick," he whispered back. "Mombi is just now asleep."

So they went behind him and silently and carefully untied his binding to the wooden chair behind him. And then Amanda took his hand and the four of them rushed out of the cottage door and closed it silently behind them again.

Then, with Amanda clutching Tip's hand, and Alice clutching onto Jack's, they all hurried away down the path away from the cottage that was lit by the light of the full moon.

When they had run about a mile or so away, they slowed down to catch their breaths. Tip turned to the two girls and said very gratefully,

"I can't thank you enough, my friends! You saved my life. Mombi was planning to turn me into a marble statue in the morning. That bad smelling stuff next to me was the potion she had made for me to drink to become such, and so she had tied me up so I wouldn't escape. I thought I was a goner, I just didn't think about you two coming to my rescue."

"Well, it wasn't us alone who rescued you," replied Amanda. "We also had a bit of help from your creation, Jack Pumpkinhead here. He poked his longest finger into the lock to open the door so we could get in to save you."

"I am your creation?" Jack asked Tip in amazement.

"Why, yes, you are in fact," replied Tip. "Because I built you all on my own by hand and put you together, carved your face, and dressed you also."

"Why, then you must be my dear, dear father!"

"Must I?" asked Tip rather taken aback.

Amanda and Alice both seemed to be struggling to contain their inner laughter. Amanda spoke first saying, "Well, you know Tip he does have a point you know."

"Yes, indeed," agreed Alice. "After all, when any creature is first born the very first thing it sees is its parent. So, congratulations to you on becoming such a young father."

Even in the pale light of only the moon they could see exactly how brightly Tip was blushing at this.

"Well, now I owe you obedience, and you owe me support, right?" said Jack Pumpkinhead.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Tip said resignedly. "Now, let's go find a place to rest in safety. I'm getting tired."

And so they did. The three children laid down in a row from each other while Jack remained standing.

"I don't feel the least bit tired," he said in confusion. "Is that wrong for me?"

"No, not for you at all," replied Tip. "You're just made that way. But that's very well, because you can stay up and keep watch over us through the night. Be sure to wake us if you see anyone at all coming along this way."

"Very well, dear father," replied Jack.