Once the Indians arrived back at the encampment with their captives in tow, they tied them up to the totem pole in the center of the camp. The Chief emerged from one of the teepees with Princess Tiger Lily by his side. He greeted the captives with a low, gravely, "How."
"How, Chief," Cubby said.
"How," Slightly said.
"How what?" the Mad Hatter said. "What are we asking here?"
"We're not asking anything. 'How' is how the Indians greet us," Cubby said.
"How confusing," the March Hare said.
"How so?" the Hatter asked.
"How will one know when someone says 'How' if they're asking you a question or just saying hello?" the Hare said.
"How, indeed," the Hatter said.
"Enough funny business!" the Chief said. "Now, you know why you're here."
Slightly said, "Yeah, you got us good this time. But you can let us go now."
"This isn't a game, Little Fox. Invaders have encroached on our territory. You Lost Boys are allied with the invaders. We can't let you go until you tell the invaders to leave."
"What do you mean 'invaders?'" Slightly said.
"New people who have come into Neverland. Like this man with the big hat." The Chief gestured to the Mad Hatter.
"Hey, who're you calling 'invaders?'" the Hatter said. "We don't want to invade anyone's land; we were simply looking for a nice cup of tea."
"Lies!" the Chief said. "The loud queen and her paper warriors are taking over the whole island so she can claim it for herself."
"The loud queen? Oh, you mean the Queen of Hearts," the March Hare said. "Yes, the Queen is cruel, but we don't work for her."
"How can we know we can trust you?" The Chief asked.
Slightly said, "Because we trust them, and you can trust us, right?"
"Hmph," the Chief said, crossing his arms.
"Father," Tiger Lily said, "the Lost Boys have been our most trusted allies for many moons. If they say that these two are not a threat to our people, then I believe them."
"Please, sir, being tied up to a pole is no way to spend one's unbirthday," the Mad Hatter said.
"Unbirthday? What is this unbirthday you speak of?" the Chief said.
The March Hare said, "An unbirthday is when… well, you see, you only have one birthday every year, so that means you have three hundred and sixty-four unbirthdays every year! An unbirthday is every day that your birthday is not."
"Hey! That means it's my unbirthday today, too!" Slightly said.
"Mine too!" Cubby said.
"Why, today's my unbirthday as well!" Tiger Lily said. "And yours, too, father."
"It is?" The Chief gasped. "It is!"
"My, my, so many unbirthdays!" the Hatter said. "What an enormous coincidence! If only we could celebrate such a special occasion. But alas, we're all tied up here."
"Very well, you are to be untied," the Chief said. "But none of you are to leave the camp. Now, let the unbirthday festivities begin!"
Two Indians untied the four captives. The Mad Hatter then reached into his hat and pulled out a long table with countless teapots, teacups, sugar bowls, and saucers set on it. Then, he pulled out innumerable mismatched chairs from his hat to set along the table. "Who's up for some tea?" the Hatter said.
As this was happening in the Indian Encampment, elsewhere in Neverland, Peter, Alice, and Tinker Bell continued their search for the Lost Boys in the jungle. "Peter, may I ask you something?" Alice said as they were walking through the dense foliage.
"Sure," the boy replied.
"And will you promise me that you will answer the question fully and honestly?"
"Mmm, depends on what the question is."
"What is your issue with mothers?" Alice asked.
"Nope. Not gonna answer that."
"But why? I mean, aren't we friends?"
"Yeah, but—"
"And shouldn't friends be able to share their problems with each other?"
"Yes, but friends should also be able to decide what they want to share with each other. And I don't want to share that with you," Peter said.
"Really, you're being quite immature about this whole matter. I'm not going to make fun of you if that's what you're worried about."
"No, that's not it; I just don't want to talk about it. Now, stop it. That's enough."
"Okay, fine," Alice scoffed.
As they approached a clearing in the jungle, they came across a large dodo and lizard looking through the bushes, searching for something.
"Oh, Mr. Dodo!" Alice said. "And Bill!"
The Dodo turned around. "Oh, hello, young lady! Er, what did you say your name was?"
"Alice."
"Alice, yes! How delightful to run into you again! Bill and I are in a bit of a predicament at the moment. I seem to have dropped my pipe somewhere, and we jolly-well can't find it anywhere."
"Feels like we've searched the 'ole bloomin' jungle, and we still 'aven't found it," Bill the Lizard said.
Alice spotted the tobacco pipe in the Dodo's coat pocket. So, she pointed it out to him, "Oh, Mr. Dodo, I think your pipe is in your coat pocket."
"Nonsense. If it were in my coat pocket, I wouldn't need to search for it, would I?" the Dodo said.
Alice reached into his pocket and pulled out the pipe herself. "You see? It was in your pocket the entire time."
"By Jove, it was!" the Dodo said. "Young lady, you are a genius."
"Really, it was nothing," Alice said.
"You seem to know what you're doing; maybe we should stick with you blokes," Bill said.
"Yes, that's just what I was thinking," the Dodo said.
"Well, okay. But where do you want to get to?" Alice asked.
"We don't really know," Bill said.
"Wherever you're going will be fine with us," the Dodo said.
"We're looking for the Lost Boys," Peter said. "Have you seen any of them? They're all dressed as different animals."
"No, we haven't seen anyone like that," the Dodo said. "But four heads are better than two, so perhaps we can help you look for them."
Tinker Bell chimed in.
"Tink says she counts as a head, too, so it should be 'five heads are better than three,'" Peter said.
"Oh, my apologies, miss. I hardly noticed you there," the Dodo said. Tink kicked him in the beak. "Ouch! Well, I certainly notice you now."
As the group began walking through the jungle again, the Dodo said, "Now, to find these Lost Boys, I will use a masterful technique I learned back in my time in the navy. No boy can resist the call of a red-winged kinglet, you see. So, I will simply imitate the mating call of a red-winged kinglet, and the boys will come right to us."
"That is a smart idea, guvnor!" Bill said.
"Yes, it is quite brilliant, if I do say so myself." The Dodo then began screeching and squawking as loud as he could.
Alice, Peter, and Tink covered their ears from the raucous sound. "I don't think that's going to work!" Peter yelled over the Dodo's shouting.
The Dodo stopped. "Tell me, boy, why not?"
"'Cause the only thing that sound's gonna do is make the boys stay away from us as far as possible."
"Ah, but you see, my boy, the sound of the red-winged kinglet will lure—"
"No boy is gonna be lured in by a red-kinged… whatever! I should know, because I am a boy."
"By Jove, you're right!" the Dodo said. "Then I suppose we will have to call to them in a more traditional manner. Oh, Lost Boys! Lost Boys!" he yelled.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Bill said. "Here, Losty, Losty, Losty Boys!"
"Shhh! Will you pipe down?" Peter said. "Do you want the whole island to know where we are?"
"Well, ideally, yes," the Dodo said. "That way, no matter where the Lost Boys are, they'll be able to hear us."
"Yeah, but Captain Hook is also out there, and we definitely don't want him knowing where we are," Peter said.
"Nor the Queen of Hearts," Alice said.
"You're right, guvnor," Bill said. "We've got to be all sneaky-like, so that no one will know we were ever 'ere." Bill and the Dodo started creeping on their tippy toes, inching their way forward very slowly.
Peter slapped his hand over his face. "You don't have to be this quiet. Just act normal. If that's even possible for you two."
Back on the west side of the island, another group of Indians returned to the camp with more captives. These captives were Nibs and Tootles, tied up with rope. As they came into the camp, they saw all the other Indians seated at a long table holding cups of tea. They were singing a song,
"A very merry unbirthday to us, to us.
A very merry unbirthday to us, to us.
If there are no objections, let it be unanimous.
A very merry unbirthday,
A very merry unbirthday,
A very merry unbirthday to us!"
One of the recently-returned Indians said, "Chief, I don't mean to interrupt, but we have just captured two more Lost Boys. Where should we hold them?"
The Chief, who was seated at the head of the table, said, "The Lost Boys aren't a threat. You may untie them, but we're keeping them here in the camp for safety measures."
The Indians untied Nibs and Tootles, and they sat next to Slightly and Cubby at the table.
"Hey, Nibs! Tootles!" Slightly said, hugging them.
"I sure am glad you're both okay," Cubby said. He hugged them, too.
"We're glad you're both okay, too," Nibs said. "We were starting to get worried. Are the Twins here?"
Slightly shook his head. "No, they're not."
"That means they're still out there somewhere," Nibs said. "I hope they're safe."
Another one of the Indians from the recently-returned group said, "Chief, do you really think it's a good idea to be celebrating with the invaders?"
"Another baseless accusation!" the Mad Hatter said. "Do we look like invaders to you?"
"They're not invaders," the Chief said. "They're not allied with the loud queen. But to be safe, we're keeping them here along with the Lost Boys."
"And what is the meaning of this celebration?" the Indian asked.
"This is an unbirthday party," the Chief said. "Take a seat and enjoy the tea."
"Yes, there's enough tea for everyone!" the March Hare said.
"Clean cup, clean cup, move down!" the Mad Hatter said.
"Clean cup, move down," the Dormouse said in a sleepy voice, popping up from inside one of the many teapots on the table.
Everyone got up from their seats and moved down one seat to the right, then they sat back down and resumed drinking tea as before.
"This is the most fun I've had in quite some time!" Tiger Lily said.
"Let's sing again, shall we?" the Hatter said.
The teapots started bouncing and whistling the tune of the song with their steam. The Mad Hatter, March Hare, Lost Boys, and Indians all joined in,
"A very merry unbirthday to us, to us.
A very merry unbirthday to us, to us.
If there are no objections, let it be unanimous.
A very merry unbirthday,
A very merry unbirthday,
A very merry unbirthday to us!"