One Monday morning, Theodore was waiting impatiently for the Dispatcher to begin their morning work meeting. It was particularly important on Mondays, as the weeks work were designated then.
"Now!" Boomed the Dispatcher. "George, I'm placing you in charge of obtaining new bumpers. Foduck, safety checks as normal, and Emily, you are in charge of clean up patrol."
Then the Dispatcher gave Hank the oil job, which made Theodore a bit disappointed. He had wanted that job, and now he didn't what he could do. Would he be stuck in his dock?
But then the Dispatcher turned to Theodore.
"Theodore, I'm putting you in charge of welcomes."
Theodore was blown away with amazement. That was a special and very important job, and he had never done it before.
Soon, all the tugs left for work.
...
"Hello, Mr or Mrs Ship, welcome to the Big Harbour! We hope you like because...because it's...nice?"
'Nice? Where that come from?' He thought huffily. That was the least he could say about the Big Harbour. In fact, it couldn't even begin describing it. What should he say?
A loud horn blast startled him. It was George, who was set to start work. Hank was there too.
"What are you doing Theodore?" He asked.
"I'm preparing my welcome for visiting ships." Theodore replied.
"Oh that's easy! Just say 'hello, and welcome to the second biggest ice free harbour in the world.'" And with a loud toot of his horn, he left to do his job.
Theodore had a thought. 'Hmm, would a loud blast of my horn be a good way to welcome ships?' He pondered.
...
Later, he decided to ask Emily, as he was working on a job with her.
"Emily, what's the best way to welcome visiting ships?" He questioned.
"They love seeing interesting sights, so showing them around is the best way to welcome them." Emily answered.
Now Theodore was confused. That had been different from what George had told him had been the best. He still had no idea how to welcome visiting ships.
Then he saw Foduck. He knew that Foduck knew a lot of things, so he asked.
"What's the right way to welcome a ship?" He asked.
"Just tell them that this is the safest harbour in the world, plus there are a lot of fire extinguishers." The safety tug replied. "Then I do this!" He added, spraying his hose.
This did not help poor Theodore at all. Now he had three different ways to welcome ships, and no way to tell which one was the right one.
...
The next morning brought on fog and a very special announcement. The Dispatcher told Theodore that an important visitor had arrived in the Big Harbour.
"His name is Northumberland, and he's been under the water for three months, so he's come here to rest." The Dispatcher explained. "He's in the Navy Yard."
So Theodore set off once the work meeting was over.
...
Theodore tried to spot the visitor, but the fog made things a bit difficult to see. He floated round the yard, thinking about where the submarine was, when the fog parted to reveal a strange metal object in front.
The little tug was startled until he read the name 'Northumberland' on it. He tooted his horn quite loudly.
"Hello. Welcome to the second biggest extinguisher free - no, wait -" but he was now very muddled indeed! So he decided to spray his fire hose...only, he didn't have one!
Poor Theodore knew this was not biding well, so he waited for the visitor to say something.
But Northumberland said nothing. Not a sound emitted from him.
...
Later, Theodore felt crestfallen. His welcome had not gone right, and to make things worse, when he returned to the Great Ocean and Salvage Company Dock, he was bombarded with questions about the welcome.
"Did you tell him about safety?" Foduck inquired.
"What sights did you tell him about?" Emily questioned.
"Did you tell him about the size of the harbour?" George asked.
"What was the submarine like?" Hank asked.
Theodore told Hank that the sub looked like a shark, and he told the others that the welcome hadn't went very well.
"Well, you need to say something, or else you won't have any point of welcoming him!" George snapped with a growl.
So Theodore went to try again.
...
He approached the silent submarine. He knew that he had to get it right this time!
Suddenly, he saw Emily and Hank approach.
"What are you doing here?" He asked them in surprise.
"We came to help." Explained Emily.
"To help!" Hank echoed.
"Thanks guys." Theodore told them.
He felt much braver now that his friends were here with him. Only, just as he was about to speak, Foduck arrived!
"I think the reason why he hasn't spoken yet is because submarines only use secret code." He announced.
His equipment began making sounds, but there was still no reply from the submarine.
"Thanks for trying anyway." Theodore said sadly, and no sooner had he said this when George emerged from nowhere.
When he found that the submarine was being silent, George was very cross. He blew his horn so loud it could be heard from the other end of the harbour.
"Hey, you're being very rude to my friend, Theodore!"
But there was still no answer. The sub floated silently.
It was then that the disheartened tugs gave up, and turned to go home, when suddenly, they heard a movement coming from the sub.
Shocked, they turn round to see the sub had moved a little. It opened one sleepy eye and regarded the five.
"Hullo tugboats." Yawned Northumberland who was very tired indeed.
"Hello and welcome to the Big Harbour." Theodore replied. "I hope you enjoy your stay because the Big Harbour is a nice harbour."
Theodore had decided to welcome their guest his way, but he was not done yet.
"And it's a nice harbour, because it's the friendliest harbour."
"Thank you. That was a very warm welcome indeed." The submarine told them.
The tugs were extremely pleased, but Theodore felt very proud for welcoming the visitor to the Big Harbour, the friendliest harbour in the world.