The Special Letter
One evening, Thomas brought his last train to the junction
Percy and Toby were there
"Are you on your way to the big station?" He asked
"Yes, I am, why?" replied Thomas
"Because me and Percy are going there too," said Toby
Just then 8 engines from the other railway puffed past them
"What's going on?" asked Thomas
"Sir Topham Hatt has a plan" replied Thomas' driver
Later at the sheds, Sir Topham Hatt had an announcement
"I have a letter from a little girl who is 5 years old" said Sir Topham Hatt
*"Dear Thomas and all the engines, please can I meet you? my friends say they would like to meet you.* *You could come to my house for tea, but my mummy says there aren't any railway tracks near my house. can you come to the station instead? Thank you very much"*
"It seems" continued Sir Topham Hatt "That there are many boys and girls who would like to see us, so I will be taking my engines to London"
"Hooray!" the engines whistled
"SILLENCE!" said The Fat Controller "These other engines have come from the other railway to do your work so please show them what to do"
The next day, Alice was showing her subsitute what they had to do
The other engine was haughty and boastful and kept talking about how he was the "strongest tank engine" on the mainland
"I am perhaps the strongest tank engine on the mainland; those big engines don't understand the importance of us little engines" he bragged "I never make mistakes and can stop easily"
Then, the boastful engine made his mistake
"Like this!" and he raced forward and bumped some trucks, and he crashed through a fence and down a slope and into a brick wall!
"Is that what you meant by being, a reliable engine?" asked a very amused Alice.
Sir Topham Hatt scolded the boastful tank engine severely for his bad behavior, I won't repeat what he said but I don't think it sounded very polite
The next morning all the engines were waiting to go
Thomas, Percy and Toby were all on flatbeds which Duck had shunted behind Alice
Gordon, Henry and James were simmering eagerly
Sir Topham Hatt had brought Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta along and had Henritta loaded onto a flatbed as well along with Annie and Clarabel.
Then, the clock struck the hour, and the engines set off for the big city
"Look out England, here we come!" They shouted
soon, they were in a splendid shed, children were delighted to meet them
"I'm glad the little girl wrote to us" said Thomas to Percy. "Isn't it wonderful what happiness a letter can bring?"