Charlie was getting bored in the yard.
He had no new jokes, and had to keep recycling old ones.
"What goes squash, squash, squish?" he asked Duck.
"Uh... sorry Charlie. I've heard that one already. Goodbye now!"
Duck puffed swiftly away.
Charlie now felt very sad; nobody thought he was funny anymore.
"Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a comedian after all!"
At Tidmouth, he was having his usual boredom while shunting a goods train when Murdoch came into the station.
"Hello Charlie," Murdoch said kindly.
Charlie looked over sadly.
"Oh, hi..."
Murdoch shunted some oil tankers into the station and waited for a guard.
Charlie sighed as he puffed out of the station.
"All I ever do is say 'hello' to other engines! I can't tell any more jokes, since I've told every joke in the book!"
Charlie puffed into Tidmouth Sheds for a quick rest when the foreman came to see him.
"The Fat Controller's sent a message via Gmail. He said you need to go to Wellsworth and pick up some trucks, then take them to the Docks. After that, you need to work at the China Clay Works."
Charlie was interested.
"The China Clay Works? Hmm... Alright sir." and Charlie puffed off, hoping to get some entertainment out of this.
Charlie soon reached Wellsworth, and was coupled up to a train of trucks.
Soon, he was puffing alogn the Wellsworth Branch Line, and puffed into Suddery.
BoCo was there, waiting with a train of passengers.
"Hello Charlie. Fancy seeing you here." said BoCo solemnly.
"I came here to get to the Docks so I can collect some trucks. It's probably going to be boring though," Charlie sighed, "Like every other job. It's always shunting or some lame job."
"Well, something always happens at the Docks," chuckled BoCo.
"I hope so. I'm getting sick of doing nothing. After this I have to go to the China Clay Works."
BoCo's eyes widened.
"Watch out for Bill and Ben," BoCo warned, "They can be a bufferful, to say the very least."
Charlie grinned.
"Finally, something to look forward to! Later BoCo!" and Charlie puffed away.
"Wait, what? That wasn't what I meant!" huffed BoCo, "Oh, no..."
At the Docks, Charlie was uncoupled from his trucks.
Porter chuffed over.
"Thanks for the trucks, Charlie. Salty has your trucks to take to the Pits."
Charlie puffed forward, and saw that Salty did indeed have Charlie's trucks ready.
"Yo ho ho, ahoy there!" said Salty.
"Hello Salty. What's in the trucks?"
"Some machinery for the China Clay Works, argh."
Charlie looked over and saw some toolboxes as well
"What, has Bill broke down again? Such a shame really. Then again you never know if he's lying." joked Charlie.
Salty coughed awkwardly.
Charlie sighed; nobody had laughed at his joke; maybe he was out of it after all.
"Uh.. just get the trucks matey." said Salty.
Charlie was coupled up to the trucks.
"Goodbye Salty. I'll try to stop telling jokes.." said Charlie sadly.
"It's not the fact you've made a joke at all matey, it's the fact the joke was bad, that's all." said Salty, trying to cheer him up.
"That didn't exactly help, Salty." snorted Cranky.
Charlie didn't feel any better as he puffed away.
At the Clay Pits, Timothy was trying to control the twins.
"Please you two, stop biffing trucks. You don't want an accident, do you?"
"Oh please, we're being careful!" snorted Bill and he biffed some trucks into some buffers.
Timothy grimaced as he puffed away with some empty trucks.
"Just don't cause too much trouble." he said worriedly.
Just as Timothy left, Charlie arrived with his trucks.
"I assume these are for some sort of machine that stopped working?" asked Charlie.
Ben rolled his eyes.
"Oh yes, that. The coal hopper's having some issues. It's partly why Timothy's the only one making rounds to the Docks at the moment. Gotta converse coal."
"Oh, alright then." said Charlie dully, still feeling as bored as ever.
Bill and Ben noticed this.
"Are you feeling bored Charlie?" asked Bill cheekily.
Charlie groaned.
"Yes, very! There's no excitement for me anymore!"
Ben giggled.
"Well, we have a solution for that."
Charlie raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Oh yes." Bill said.
Charlie immediately grew interested.
"Go on..."
"We'll tell you on the way to the Docks." Ben said.
"But... I thought you were going to converse coal." said Charlie worriedly.
"Oh, it's fine. The Coal Hopper should be fixed by the time we get back." Bill said.
Soon, Bill, Ben, and Charlie were puffing to the Docks.
"So, you said I can improve my humor?" Charlie asked hopefully.
Bill and Ben snickered to each other.
"Oh yes but instead of verbal humor, it's... well... more physical." Ben explained.
"Like, joking around?" Charlie asked.
"Joking around is very simple really." Bill said, "You trick them and they fall for it."
"That sounds amazing!" Charlie said, "And probably very funny."
Ben smirked to his twin as they raced into Brendam, knowing their plan was working.
Cranky was unloading a goods train from Donald.
"Come on laddie! I have to get back to the Main Line before Easter!" grumbled Donald sarcastically.
"Oh sure, because it's not like I have to load Rosie's next train either!" said Cranky sarcastically back.
"Crankity crank, crank, crank, crank." said Bill as the trio puffed into the Docks.
"Oh no, here comes trouble." groaned Donald.
"So Donald, what's it like in Scotland?" asked Ben innocently, who puffed up alongside the Caledonian twin,
"Were there wars? Was there a bridge that was torn down?"
Donald grinned, as he was always happy to share his heritage tales with an engine.
"Weel, if ye really want to know, there was-"
Suddenly, Charlie bumped the brakevan of Donald's train and Donald raced up to some points that were set the wrong way.
Donald skidded off the tracks, and was very cross.
"Charlie, ye little cheek!" cried Donald.
Charlie was so busy laughing that he didn't hear a word Donald had said.
"Come on guys, let's go prank Porter!"
"Sounds like a good idea!" said the twins and they puffed away.
"Ooh, get back here!" fumed Donald angrily.
Cranky smirked,
"Well you have to admit it was pretty funny."
"Shut up." muttered Donald.
Porter was shunting a goods train onto a siding.
"Don't take me away from the sea... That's a decent song." Porter sang to himself.
Charlie crept up behind Porter.
"Hey Porter, can you shunt those trucks over there, by the shed?"
Porter looked over at Charlie, and his narrowed.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously.
"Because, um... Of this!"
Charlie raced forwards and bumped Porter into the trucks, and the trucks bumped into the buffers.
Porter was very surprised.
"Ow! What was that for?" cried Porter indignantly.
Charlie was giggling again, and puffed back to a shed, where Bill and Ben were.
"See Ben? I told you he had potential." said Bill eagerly.
"No you didn't." retorted Ben.
"I thought I did."
"Nope."
"Well, I still think he does."
Charlie, hearing all of this, beamed with pride, but then he got the cheekiest idea of all.
"I know, let's prank Douglas!"
"I like that idea," said Bill.
"We got Donald, so we might as well get Douglas." said Ben cheekily.
They then heard a familiar whistle.
"Psst, he's here! Quick, hide and let Charlie do the work!" said Bill hastily.
"Alright, I've got an idea. I hope it works." said Charlie.
Douglas puffed into the dockyard, all tired out.
"Some trucks are waiting on that siding, by the end of the dock." called Salty.
Douglas whistled and backed down onto the trucks.
Charlie suddenly raced off, towards Douglas.
"What the heck do ye think yer doing?!" Douglas shouted in horror.
Before Douglas could ask any more questions, Charlie biffed Douglas, and the trucks crashed through the old, wooden buffers and flew into the sea.
Douglas wasn't far behind as Charlie continued to push the Caledonian twin off the key.
Douglas splashed into the water in a state of shock.
"Bust me buffers." was all he said, up until he was furious.
"You little-"
Before Douglas could say any more, Captain arrived; Captain had been patrolling nearby and noticed the situation.
"Uh, Douglas? What exactly are you doing?" he asked as he drove over, "Trying to swim?"
"Charlie biffed me dock, that idiot!" scowled Douglas.
"I'll get the Fat Controller and raise the alarm. Don't worry, we'll get you out of there." Captain said crossly and he drove away, leaving Douglas and his train stuck in the water.
While nobody noticed, Bill and Ben had sneaked away.
"What did you do to Charlie?!" asked Ben crossly.
"What? What do you mean me? You know even we wouldn't push an engine into the sea!" fumed Bill.
"Well, he's in trouble." muttered Ben.
It took a great number of hours and many salvage barges to get Douglas out of the water.
In fact, he didn't get out until the next morning.
He was spouting off like mad at the Docks as he was loaded onto a flatbed to go to the Steamworks.
"That good-for-nothing troublemaker!" he snorted, "Always getting us into accidents!"
The Fat Controller drove up in Winston, tilting his top hat.
He was cross too.
"Who was responsible for this catastrophe?" he exclaimed.
"I'm afraid it was Charlie sir. Since yesterday, he's gone back to the yard, as if nothing had happened." explained Porter, "Not to mention he played tricks on Donald and me. Bill and Ben had a role, but I think even they know that Charlie went too far. Why else would they look surprised when Charlie did..that last deed?"
"And so they should." the Fat Controller sighed, as he got back into Winston.
Charlie was playing with trucks in Knapford Yard.
"Look sharp!" Charlie laughed as the trucks groaned.
Just then, he spotted Winston arriving with his owner inside.
"Uh oh..." Charlie said meekly.
"'Uh oh' is right, Charlie." boomed the Fat Controller, "You have caused a significant amount of damage. especially to Douglas. Now I'll have to reschedule a lot of trains. You will stay in your shed until you are wanted again."
Charlie tried to make one last effort.
"But sir, Bill and Ben were the influence!"
"As much as I find it odd to say it, they at least know when they've gone too far. I don't know what it is, but you've gone above and beyond. It seems as if I can't trust you. You will have to rebuild that trust, Charlie. Now go to the carriage shed."
Charlie sighed sadly.
"Yes sir..." and he puffed slowly to the shed.
In the shed, his firebox was put out and the coaches were taken to another siding, so now Charlie was all by himself.
He had a lot of time to think.
Charlie thought about how comedy perhaps wasn't his path; he thought about how maybe his comedy could be improved, but most of all; he thought to never pull another prank, even if it's a harmless one, again.