Henry's refusal
based on "The sad story of Henry" by Rev. W. Awdry
Henry is one of the bigger students at Knapford preschool. Like Gordon, he is often seen as grumpy or unimpressed. Unlike him, however, he is shown to be more friendly and caring towards others.
However, there is something about Henry the others don't know about. He hates rain, and would do whatever it takes to get himself away from being under it. Whenever it rains, he usually wants to stay indoors until it is over, unlike some others, who enjoy playing outside during the weather. And whenever it begins to rain while he is outside, he immediately panics and runs to whatever shelter that has a roof to protect him from the rain.
One day, Henry was on his way back home from preschool. It had been windy and cloudy that day. Henry looked up at the sky, and began to feel nervous, as darker clouds from the distant horizon began to drift in his direction. Then, after beginning to feel drops of water falling on him, he immediately began to run.
HENRY: Oh dear! I must find a place to hide under!
Luckily, he was next to a hill, and in the hill there was a small cave. Henry ran towards it as fast as he could. When he reached it he crawled through it and breathed a sigh of relief.
HENRY: Thank goodness…
The rain got heavier and heavier as time went by. Henry looked outside as he was safe and comfortable under the cave. The raindrops fell heavily and pounded the ground as they reached it. Henry didn't really understand why water drops fell from the sky. He thought it shouldn't ever happen. But, there's nothing he could really do about that.
Hours went by, and it was still raining. By then, his parents got worried that Henry hadn't returned home yet.
MR. STANIER: Oh dear. It's been hours, but Henry's still not here, Angela!
MRS. STANIER: We can't wait for him any longer… Put on your jacket and bring me my umbrella, Martin! We must look for him!
So both of Henry's parents went outside and searched high and low along the path. After what felt like hours, they finally noticed the cave, and found Henry sitting underneath it, safe from the rain.
HENRY: Hi mom, hi dad…
MRS. STANIER: Henry, dear! We were so worried about you! We thought you got lost…
MR. STANIER: At least we found you, Henry. Come on, son. Let's go home before it gets dark.
HENRY: …no.
MR. STANIER: What are you talking about?
HENRY: I don't want to leave this cave, and go out there when it's raining. I'll stay here as long as I need to until the rain stops!
MRS. STANIER: Now don't be silly, Henry. You can't stay here all day. You'll get cold and hungry. Come back home with us.
HENRY: No! I don't want to! I'm staying here and I'm not changing my mind, so there!
Henry's parents of course, didn't want to leave their son in the cave like that, but they didn't like how he behaved towards them, so they decided to teach him a lesson.
MR. STANIER: Very well, then. Have it your way.
And with that, both of them left Henry inside his hideout. Henry felt relieved that he wouldn't have to go out in the rain.
An hour later, Henry's father came back to him. He was carrying a section of a wooden fence and some tools.
MR. STANIER: I really didn't want to do this Henry. But if you don't want to leave and come back home with us, then you don't have to. Maybe this will help you think more sensibly.
And with that, he fixed the fence section in place, in front of the cave entrance, leaving Henry locked inside. Henry said nothing, but just watched as his father then left him alone.
HENRY: Well, at least I don't have to go out in the rain… I'm safe in here… I can manage by myself… can I…?
It was getting late by now, and Henry felt quite tired anyway. So, he curled up on his backpack and tried to get comfortable. And as the rain began to soften, and the sun began revealing itself out of the clouds, Henry began to wonder if it really was a good idea to stay in the cave at all. So he went to sleep and wondered what would happen the next day, but that's a story for another time.