One day, Edward was at Tidmouth Sheds where he lived with the other engines including Thomas. Most of them were bigger than Edward and always boasted about it.
"Our fairy friends won't choose you again," said Gordon. "They want strong engines like us."
Unfortunately, Gordon was right. Edward hadn't been used for a long time and he always was at the sheds as a spare engine if the need arises. And during that time, his loyal friend Tecna, the Fairy of Technology, always felt sorry for Edward.
Then an idea came to her head, but she waited till the next morning when she went to see Edward to surprise what she had arranged for him.
"What's the matter, Edward?" asked Tecna. "You look sad."
"Well, madam," sighed Edward, "to tell you the truth, I haven't been out of Tidmouth Sheds for a long time now. And I've longed for a nice run."
"I understand," said Tecna. "But anyway, would you like to come out with me today?"
"Oh, yes, please, Tecna!" said Edward excitedly, "Anything is better than sitting in my shed for years!"
So Tecna lit his fire, waited until Edward made lots of steam, and they both puffed away. The other engines were jealous and very cross of being left behind. Edward worked hard all day. The coaches thought he was very kind and Tecna was very pleased.
"I'm going out with Tecna again tomorrow," Edward told the other engines that night, "What do you engines think of that?" But of course, he didn't hear what they thought, for he was so tired and happy that he fell asleep at once.
The next morning, Edward woke up to find nothing had changed. Gordon was still boasting. "You watch me, little Edward, as Aisha and I rush through with the Express. That will be a fine sight for you and Tecna. Goodbye, little Edward! Look out for us this afternoon!"
Edward and Tecna went off to do some shunting. They like shunting. It was fun playing with freight cars. They would come up quietly and give them a push. Then they would stop and the silly cars would go bump into each other.
"Oh!" they cried. "Whatever is happening?!"
"Way to go, Edward!" cheered Tecna. "That's the way to do it!" They continued playing until there were no more freight cars. Then they stopped to rest.
Presently, they heard a whistle. Gordon was very cross. Instead of nice shiny coaches, he was pulling a very dirty freight train. "A freight train! A freight train! A freight train!" he grumbled. "The shame of it! The shame of it! Oh, the shame of it!"
Edward and Tecna laughed about it and they went off to find some more freight cars.
Then, there was trouble. "Gordon can't get up the hill, Tecna," the porter called to her. "Will you take Edward there and help him, please?"
"Of course I will, sir!" said Tecna, "Let's go, Edward!"
They found Gordon halfway up the hill and very cross. Aisha was arguing with him severely. "Listen, Gordon!" she scolded him. "You're not even trying! You're just being lazy!"
"I can't do it!" said Gordon. "Those noisy freight cars hold an engine back so! If they were coaches, clean sensible things that come quietly, that would've been different."
Then Tecna came up to see what the commotion was about. "Edward and I have come to help push you," she said.
"No use at all," said Gordon.
"You just wait and see, Gordon," replied Tecna, "There are things you don't know about Edward yet."
They brought the train back to the bottom of the hill, and Edward buffered up to the brake van. "We're ready!" he called.
"No good!" grumbled Gordon.
They pulled and pushed as hard as they could.
"I can't do it! I can't do it! I can't do it!" puffed Gordon.
"I will do it! I will do it! I will do it!" puffed Edward. Edward pushed and puffed and puffed and pushed as hard as ever he could.
And almost before he and Tecna realized it, Gordon and Aisha found themselves at the top of the hill. "I've done it! I've done it! I've done it!" he said proudly.
They forgot all about kind Edward and Tecna and didn't say thank you. Edward was left out of breath and far behind. But he was happy because he had been so helpful.
At Maron Station, he found that Tecna was very pleased with him. So she gave him a nice long, well-deserved drink, and then she told him, "You know, Edward, you surprised me out there today. You showed me that even when you are old, you still know to get the job done. So to thank you, I'll get some paint tomorrow and give you a new beautiful coat of blue with red stripes. Then you'll be the smartest engine at Tidmouth sheds."
The End