Nick is first mentioned when an old Munchkin farmwife comes to Nessarose Thropp, the newly established Eminent of Thropp, also known as the Wicked Witch of the East, telling her that she does not approve of her daughter's sweetheart and asks her to enchant his ax so it would cut of all his limbs and kill him. Nessarose does this in exchange for two Sheep and a Cow, and this is one of her first steps to becoming wicked. Then, later it is learned that the Tin Woodsman that is traveling with Dorothy, The Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion is indeed Nick Chopper when he kills all of the Wicked Witch of the West's wolves. Nick's story connects back to the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.Frank Baum the Tin Woodsman tells Dorothy and The Scarecrow about his backstory.