Thomas' Tall Tales

Thomas' Tall Tales: Fire Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine loves his life on the Island of Sodor. He has had many good days. But sometimes, he had bad days. Sometimes the good days are when he helps save the day, or when he gets to pull a special train, or simply by being Really Useful. But sometimes the bad days are when he doesn't do his jobs properly, or when he gets too cheeky for his own good. But there was one time that Thomas had a bad day for not telling the truth!

One day, Thomas was resting after delivering supplies to the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre. James steamed in with some coal trucks, but he was not happy. He had soot and coal all over his shiny red paintwork.

"A splendid red engine like me should never have dirty work." he grumbled.

"Hehehe, at least you didn't have to work with fuel, James. You got really dirty then, and very nearly caught on fire!" teased Thomas.

James didn't like to be reminded of his own accidents, but this accident was one of his most unpleasant memories. He had once taken fuel trucks in hot weather, and when one of the trucks leaked, it caught fire and James ended up in a fiery runaway, until he was able to escape into a siding, where the fire brigade had to come to his rescue, before Belle and Flynn had come to work on the Island of Sodor. It was a very scary experience for the red engine.

"It's not funny, Thomas!" he snapped with a shiver.

"I knew you liked being a red engine, but I never thought you'd want to be a red inferno engine!" teased Thomas.

"It's not that funny really, Thomas." said Belle.

"Fire is a serious matter, and very dangerous." added Flynn.

"I'd like to see you react to a fire emergency as well as I had anyway!" fumed James.

"Actually, I did once." retorted Thomas. "On the same day you had your accident, in fact."

"What?" said James and the Rescue team.

(Captain, Harold, Butch and Rocky are also there to hear.)

"Oh yes." smiled Thomas, and he told the story of how he and Percy had acted as fire engines.

"Percy and I were having a drink from the water towers not long after we left you at that siding." began Thomas. "We then heard an alarm and found that nearby was a fire near the beach. It had broken out inside the workmen's hut. Percy and I came to watch the fire being put out by the fire brigade. But when they and their fire engines arrived, they had trouble: they had run out of water and were forced to let the hut burn down."

"Oh my." gasped Harold and Flynn.

"Oh, goodness!" cried Belle and Butch.

"Not good!" murmured Rocky and Captain.

"But that's where Percy and I came in." continued Thomas, enjoying his role as storyteller. "I had the idea of getting the firemen to use the water in our tanks that we had just taken at those water towers! They filled up their hoses, and thanks to my idea, they were able to put out the fire!"

"But I imagine the hut was in a terrible mess." said Flynn.

"That's when Percy suggested the workmen use Old Slow Coach as a new home." said Thomas. "We both had good ideas that day. I reacted to the emergency, and Percy helped with the aftermath."

"So that's what that coach is always doing near the beach." said Belle in realization.

"Well, that was a bravo job, Thomas!" said Harold approvingly.

"Well done, Thomas!" cheered Butch and Captain.

"It was nothing." blushed Thomas. "We were just trying to be Really Useful."

"And you were." smiled Belle.

"Wish I were there to see it." said Flynn.

"Glad you have what it takes to be a rescue engine, Thomas." said Rocky kindly.

Thomas felt so proud, his firebox and axles tingled.

James, on the other hand, was now very pouty and huffy. His pride felt reduced when he tried to get back at Thomas, and he snorted away, getting more dirty in the process.

Thomas chuckled.

"Now I'd best get back to the shunting yards." he said to the Rescue team. "I have a lot of Really Useful jobs to do."

"Hooray for Thomas the Fire Rescue Engine." cheered Belle and Flynn.

They all admired Thomas' story. It was not everyday that they saw a regular tank engine being a fire engine and a hero when he didn't have the parts for the job like Belle and Flynn did.

As a matter of fact, Thomas felt very admired indeed. But the trouble was that he was feeling too proud of himself about it. The pride of telling the story of his heroic deeds had gotten to his funnel.

Then he had a thought.

"Maybe I can tell some more stories about my heroic adventures on Sodor." he said. "I will be admired all over the Island. Everyone will be talking about Thomas the Really Useful Heroic Tank Engine."

But Thomas was starting to think of a naughty idea.

"And maybe, as I tell these stories, I can add a little more to it, to make myself look even more amazing."

But Thomas had said this to himself...and of course, that's another story...

(To be continued in Episode 2)