Another request from tate310, this time it's "Thomas and the Circus" from Season 8. Enjoy and comment.
It was a glorious day on the Island of Sodor. Everyone, including Sir Topham Hatt were excited, because the circus was in town!
The engines were thrilled. They loved the circus too! Percy loved the horses, James loved the clowns, especially their bright red noses.
"Don't worry James, we'll see the clowns soon enough!" chuckled the driver. "We all know red's your favorite color!"
Children gathered on the bridges. They were waiting to see the circus pass by.
Thomas was the most excited of all. He wanted to collect the circus, and so did the other engines.
Sir Topham Hatt came to Tidmouth Sheds, with exciting news for Thomas.
"Thomas, you are to collect the circus." he boomed.
Thomas was very happy. He had wanted to collect the circus, and pulling the special circus train seemed like a lot of fun.
"If there are too many freight cars for you to pull, you must share the work with another engine." added Sir Topham Hatt.
Percy and James were pleased. Maybe they would get to pull the circus after all.
Thomas puffed over to Brendam Docks. He steamed over, and noticed Cranky unloading the circus.
He was very amazed. There were all sorts of freight cars, trailers, and coaches as far as the eye could see.
The circus performers climbed aboard the coaches. Then, Thomas was coupled up. Right before he set off, Salty came by.
"Ahoy there matey! Do you want some help?"
Thomas remembered what Sir Topham Hatt said about sharing the work. Even though the train was very heavy, he didn't want to share it.
"No thank you Salty!" he gasped. "I can do it on my own!" He then, with the biggest puff he ever puffed, set away.
Thomas chuffed through the countryside. He was very happy, and having so much fun.
When he puffed through Maron Station, he saw a crowd of people waiting to see the circus go by.
Thomas whistled, and the crowd waved, clapped, and cheered as he passed by! He felt very special.
When he approached a bridge, Percy was waiting for him. He wanted to help out.
"Is there anything I can take?" asked Percy hopefully.
But Thomas didn't want any help.
"No thank you!" he gasped. "I can do it on my own!"
Percy was upset. He watched Thomas and the circus puff away.
Thomas puffed on. The train started to feel heavy and heavy and his traction rods started to rattle more than ever.
James was waiting at a siding when Thomas puffed by. Like Percy, he wanted to help with the circus train.
"If you couple some trucks, I can take them for you." he said.
"No thank you!" gasped Thomas. "I can do it on my own! He set off once more.
As time went on, every chuff and every huff became harder and harder.
Thomas passed through the next station, very slowly. He was running out of puff. Thomas wasn't having fun anymore.
Then, there was trouble. With a loud, horrible "CREEK!" and a loud, terrible "CRACK!" Thomas' traction rods broke! He came to a complete halt!
Thomas felt very sad. His driver telephoned for help.
Even the circus performers performing in the field didn't cheer Thomas up! He had wished he had shared his load with the other engines.
Soon, Percy and James arrived. James brought new traction rods, and Percy brought hay for the horses.
But Thomas still felt sad.
"I wished I'd shared the work with you." he said sadly.
"Don't worry!" puffed Percy.
"We can all have fun now!" said James cheerfully.
They waited for Thomas' traction rods to be repaired. While they waited, they watched the circus performers perform. When everything was fixed, Thomas decided to share the freight cars. Percy took the horses and James took the performers. They set off once more.
When they arrived at the circus, everyone clapped and cheered! They were excited to see that everything had arrived safely.
"Good work!" said Sir Topham Hatt.
"Thank you for helping me!" puffed Thomas. "Sharing your work makes things much easier, but sharing the fun is the best fun of all!"
And everyone agreed!