The Tale of the Little Engine That Couldn't

Once upon a time, there was a little steam engine. He was such a happy steam engine, full of life. And he loved to please. Oh boy, did he love to please!

One day, the little steam engine was asked to move thirty trucks to the other side of the yard. The little steam engine thought, "Oh, this'll be easy." And it was. In fact, he moved SIXTY trucks. The controllers were very pleased, because it meant that no other engines needed to be distracted from their duties. But the other engines were not very happy. Because the little engine did it by himself, they had nothing to do.

One day, the freight yard received a big order from the military base in the mountains. They needed twenty trucks of coal, ten trucks of propane, five trucks of military ordinance, three trucks of nitro-glycerine and a hydrogen bomb. This was a very heavy load. So, the controllers asked, "Who wants to take this load?"

"I will," said the little steam engine.

The controllers were worried. It's a very big load. Will you need any help?"

"No, I'll be fine."

So the little steam engine headed off, all alone, towing the twenty trucks of coal, the ten trucks of propane, the five trucks of military ordinance, the three trucks of nitro-glycerine and the hydrogen bomb.

As he got near the base, the little steam engine had to climb a sixty-degree grade up the mountain. The track went around a big curving bridge over a crevasse before running dead straight up the mountain. As he got further and further up the mountain, he began to slow down. So, he started saying to himself, "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can."

But he couldn't.

Finally, he stopped going forward, about three-quarters of the way up. It was at this point that the little steam engine realised he had bitten off more than he could chew. If fact, being a steam engine, he realised that he had bitten off more than he could choo-choo. He began to slide down the track, going faster and faster. Finally, he flew off the track at the bridge, and the little steam engine fell screaming into the crevasse. The impact set off the three trucks of nitro-glycerine. The explosion from the nitro-glycerine ruptured and ignited the ten trucks of propane. The propane explosion ignited the twenty trucks of coal, which had become highly explosive coal dust from the impact. The exploding coal dust set off the five trucks of military ordinance. Finally, all the explosions pressed in on the hydrogen bomb, bypassing the safety devices and setting it off, vaporising the bridge, everything in the crevasse and, of course, the little steam engine.

Moral of the story: If you need help, ask for it.