"The Topham Manor Story 1: Hurry Up Henderson!"
One morning, Henderson, the Hatt family's butler, walked into the Topham Manor longue. The Fat Controller was adjusting his top hat and bowtie.
"Good morning, Sir," Henderson said politely.
"Good morning, Henderson," the Fat Controller said, checking his pocket watch. "Jane is at her friend's house, and I've a meeting to attend to with Fergus Duncan. Would you do some errands for me please?"
"Anything you desire, Sir," Henderson said calmly.
"Take the kids to school," the Fat Controller said, "and then head to the supermarket and collect some groceries." He handed the butler a list.
"Right away, Sir," Henderson said.
He left the longue and went outside to start up Winston.
"Good morning, S-s-s-s- Henderson!" Winston said. He hadn't been drove by Henderson that much, and was usually always driven by the Fat Controller.
"Morning, Winston," said Henderson said. He opened the rear doors, and the Fat Controller's children scrambled into the back seats.
"Buckle up," Henderson said as Winston left the driveway, onto the main street.
At first, everything was calm and silent. But the children began to argue.
"Hey!" shouted the Fat Controller's daughter. "Give me my brush back, you fool!"
"Alright then!" said one of the sons, hurling the brush in her face.
"Ow! You hit me!" shrieked the daughter, and she hurled the brush back at his face.
"STOP!" shouted Henderson. "If you do not behave, I shall have your father punish you immediately!"
All three shut up at once, and Winston skidded into the parking lot of the school.
"Run along, now," Henderson said as the three children ran off to the school.
"Finally all that racket stopped," Winston sighed in relief.
Winston roared out of the school, but as he made a sharp turn, a lorry nearly hit him, and the lorry blasted his horn.
"Watch it!" shouted the lorry as Winston charged off.
"That was a close one," Henderson said. "Now to go to the supermarket."
Henderson parked Winston at the supermarket, and ran inside the supermarket. When he returned, he had his arms full of sacks of groceries. One of the sacks was filled to the brim with cat food. As Henderson tried to attempt opening Winston's rear doors, the sack of cat food fell onto the road. Before he could fetch it, a car reversing ran clear over it. The bag busted open, and its contents spilled onto the road.
"And that was the last bag of dry food they had..." Henderson sighed. "Oh well, we have enough food for a few more days."
He filled the rear seats with all of the sacks of food he bought, and drove Winston off.
Soon they were leaving the town, when suddenly, there was a loud "POP!", and Winston, with only three intact tyres, skidded across the road.
"My tyre's blown!" Winston shouted.
Henderson put his foot on the brake pedal, and Winston slipped off of the road, and he drove into some long grass.
"This is just wonderful," Henderson said.
Fortunately for him, Bear was nearby, taking on more fuel.
"Hullo, Henderson," Bear said. "Why is Winston on the side of the road?"
"He blew a tyre," said Henderson. "Please go fetch us a recovery vehicle."
"Right away," said Bear as he oiled away.
Shortly later, Butch arrived, and his tow hook was attached to Winston.
"Where do ya need to be towed?" Butch asked.
"Topham Manor, please," said Henderson.
"Alright," said Butch. "Hop into my cab an' I'll take ya there."
"But what about the groceries in Winston?" asked Henderson.
"They'll be fine," said Butch. "Now come on."
Henderson had no choice but to shrug it off, and he clambered into Butch's cab. Butch honked his horn, and he revved his engine, off to the Hatt Family's mansion. He arrived in a few minutes, and Winston was towed into the driveway.
"Good luck!" said Butch, and he left the mansion.
Henderson gathered the groceries, and ran into the mansion to put them away. He tried to put away the groceries as quickly as possible, when suddenly he looked out the window, and saw a taxi dropping off the Fat Controller.
"Oh dear, Stephen's back!" thought Henderson. "I must be late!"
He quickly shoved the rest of the groceries as the Fat Controller walked into the mansion.
"Oh! Sir!" shouted Henderson in shock. "I-I'm sorry I'm late!"
"Late for what?" asked the Fat Controller. "You got back here before I returned."
"Winston has a flat," said Henderson. "Oh, and the supermarket is out of cat food."
"Hmm... meh," the Fat Controller said, shrugging his shoulders.
When the Fat Controller walked away, Henderson, overwhelmed by his busy day, fainted right on the spot.
UP NEXT: Cat Killer.