Flour Fear

It was a beautiful sunny day on the Island of Sodor. All the engines were busy taking vacationers to their destinations across the railway. Their pistons pumped and their boilers bubbled as they whooshed from station to station.

James liked this time of year. He would love steaming down the track pulling coaches all around the island full of passengers. And when he would get to a station, he would love to show off his lovely red paint to the people on the platform.

"Look at me!" He would boast. "Aren't I a sight?"

Some people would smile at him and agree while others would frown because they thought James was really annoying when it came to boasting about himself.

But even though James loved to pull coaches, he didn't like to pull cars full of goods. He thought this kind of job wasn't suitable for a smart looking engine like him. The one train he hated most of all was the "Flour Power" train. For this train, an engine would take 5 or so cars full of flour to the bakery so that it could be used to bake sweets like cakes, cupcakes, and shortbread cookies.

James had a huge fear of flour. He remembered a while back when he had an accident pulling the "Flour Power" train. He was taking some flour to the bakery one day when the troublesome trucks decided to have some fun and push him down the track at a tremendous rate. Luckily for him, a set of points were switched to some buffers which he had hit with a mighty biff. Flour flew into the air and covered James from funnel to footplate. Most got into his funnel blocking it. It was a horrible sight. He had to go the works to get it unblocked, but work took a very long time. James thought he would never get back to pulling coaches again which made him very disappointed. At last, after months of being in the works, James was free to go back to work. But ever since then, James has had a fear of flour hoping that it would not get stuck in his funnel again. He wished that he would never have to pull the "Flour Power" train again.

But I'm sorry to say James' wish didn't last long.

One day, he was resting a Tidmouth Sheds when Sir Topham Hatt drove up in his blue car. He stepped out and walked towards James.

"Good afternoon, sir," said James. "A good afternoon to you too, James. I have a very important job for you."

James was surprised. "But I'm about to take my next passenger train in half an hour, sir," "Don't worry," said Sir Topham Hatt, "I'll have another engine look after it."

Now, James was just plain confused. "Sir, may I ask why are you sending another engine to look after my train and what is this important job?"

Sir Topham Hatt paused, then he said "Well, Percy was meant to take the 'Flour Power' train to the bakery, but he has been delayed. So, James, I would like you to pull it."

James was horrified! He had to take the very train that caused him to have his fear of flour! He wanted to tell Sir Topham Hatt, but he knew that Sir Topham Hatt would still make him do it no matter what he said and he also didn't want him to know about his fear of flour. James let out a huge sigh and said "Yes, sir." And slowly but sadly he set off to collect his trucks.

But on his way, he kept thinking about his accident that he had last time. He shivered at the thought of having flour blocking his funnel and having to stay at the works for a long time again. At last, he couldn't take his bad thoughts any longer and he decided to hide. He backed down onto a siding covered by bushes and trees. He hoped no one would see him.

"James," said his driver, "what are you doing?" James frowned. "Well, it's kind of a secret," he said. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?" "I won't say a word," said his driver. "Now, what's the matter?" James sighed and told his crew about his fear of flour and how he got so in the first place. James' driver and fireman wanted to laugh at first, but then they realized that they everyone has a fear of something and laughing at someone else's wouldn't be too kind.

"Its okay, James," said his driver, "It's only a little flour. It's not going to hurt you." He patted his engine on the cab side. But his comfort didn't make James feel better. He still hid in his siding refusing to puff out.

Down the line, Thomas was pulling cars full of coal. He was puffing closer and closer to James' hiding spot. James heard an engine coming, so he tried not to make any noise. Up in the sky, a blue bird flew by. Just then, one of it's feathers came off and floated down towards James. The feather landed on his nose. It tickled it as it did. Then, there was trouble. The feather's tickling James' nose was starting to cause a sneeze to build up inside him. "Ah..Ah…AH!..." he said. He then hushed and tried to hold in his sneeze for Thomas was almost to his hiding place. He held it in as hard as he could, but it was no use.

"AH, AH,…. AHCHOO!" he sneezed loudly. He sneezed right when Thomas was right beside his hiding place. Thomas heard the sneeze and stopped. "Who's there?" he said. James gasped. Oh,no…." he groaned quietly. Thomas recognized the voice right away. "James?" he said, "Is that you?" "Yes, it is," James said sadly. He then puffed slowly out of his siding.

"What are you doing out here on a siding?" asked Thomas.

James knew he had to tell Thomas about his fear of flour. He looked at his driver hoping he would let him make up an excuse. But his driver nodded his head. He was giving him that "Tell the truth" face. James let out a huge puff and told Thomas all about his fear of flour and how he had to take the "Flour Power" train, but won't because of his fear. When he was finished, he waited for Thomas to tease him and call him a scaredy engine, but instead, Thomas smiled. He could see that James was scared and he wanted to help. "James," started Thomas, "We all have a fear of something. No one's perfect. I have a fear of ghosts. I have been ever since Percy played that ghostly trick on me years ago. I will never forget that. Then, later on, Emily and I had to go to the scrapyard to collect some scrap, but once a tarp fell on her, it startled me, her, and also Arry and Bert. But afterwards, we soon learned that there is no such thing as ghosts and it was all silly make believe. But sometimes James, you have to face your fears in order to overcome them. Remember what Gator told Percy when he was on Sodor? He said 'Being brave is not the same as not feeling scared and being brave is about what you do even when you DO feel scared.' So, even though you're afraid of flour, you still need to pull the 'Flour Power' train in order to get the job done. You have to be brave."

James knew that Thomas was right. He listened to every word the little blue tank engine told him. He knew he had to be brave and pull the "Flour Power" train even though he was afraid of flour. He then smiled. "You're right, Thomas. So you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to do it. I WILL pull the 'Flour Power' train!""

Thomas beamed. "Great , James! Now, I must hurry. I don't want to be late delivering this coal to the depot. And then, Thomas chuffed away. Once Thomas was out of sight, James headed straight towards the yard to collect his trucks. When he got there, he backed down onto his train and set off for the bakery. On his way, the troublesome trucks began to giggle and laugh as they rocked back and forth spilling a little bit of flour on the tracks and onto James. He did start to worry at first, but then he remembered what Thomas had said. He knew he had to be brave. "Shut up and be still!" he roared to the trucks. The trucks were surprised and startled. They behaved at once. James smiled to himself and chuffed on to the bakery. He soon reached it in no time. His driver leaned out of the cab. "Well done, James," he said. James smiled. He had finished his journey without any trouble by being a brave engine.

James doesn't mind pulling flour trains now and gets the job done quicker and better.