BAA!
Based upon the episode by Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and David Maidment
Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens
Following Daisy's accident, the other engines had to pick up the slack. Thomas, Annie and Clarabel were speaking to Oliver and Old Slow Coach at Knapford station.
"Who'd be foolish enough to run into a tunnel under restoration with passengers aboard?" Thomas complained. "And disobey a red flag?"
"Even if it was a goods train," Oliver put in, "we'd still have our crew and guard to worry about."
"Good point," said Thomas.
"I'm just glad the passengers were okay," sighed Annie.
"And we were not being pulled by Daisy at the time," agreed Clarabel. "Just between the five of us, I don't fully trust her even now."
"Well, I can't exactly blame you, Clarabel," Old Slow Coach sighed. "We've just got to keep up the workload as best we can. Say, do you know what kind of progress is being made with the Dieselworks and Emily's restoration?"
"Considering Daisy's accident and this new tunnel," said Annie, "I'd say they're both going to be put on the backburner for now."
Just then, Oliver's guard's whistle blew.
"That's us, Old Slow Coach," he said. "Catch you later, Thomas, Annie and Clarabel."
Later, Oliver was at Arlesburgh harbor with Toad and some trucks.
"Whew!" panted Oliver. "The summer rush always brings in more jobs for everyone."
"Not to mention fish," Toad added. Both the Western engine and brake van wrinkled their noses at the strong smell.
"I don't know how Henry manages to put up with that stench," groaned Oliver.
"And didn't Mr. Duck crash into the Flying Kipper a few years ago?" sighed Toad. "That mustn't have been pleasant for him."
"I can imagine," Oliver agreed.
But unfortunately, while Oliver was shunting trucks, he didn't see a crane unloading some fish, and it was coming down a bit too quickly.
"Uh oh!" cried Oliver, and he backed up. Thankfully, the crate missed him, but some drops of ice landed on him.
"Ugh!" groaned Oliver. "Clumsy crane. I'll need a washdown at the end of the day now."
Sadly, Oliver didn't get his chance; as it was the summer rush, he was busy all day, and Sir Topham Hatt was calling everyone together for a meeting.
"Yeech!" exclaimed James. "Whatever's that foul stench?"
"Sorry about this," sighed Oliver. "There was a crane that had drops of ice from a fish crate."
"Urr ye hurt, Oliver?" asked Douglas.
"No, Douglas," Oliver assured him. "The crate landed beside me, not on top of me."
"Are we all here?" asked Henry, checking around the sheds. A frantic whistle answered the question as Thomas came panting in.
"Sorry, I had to cover Daisy's last train," he said, coming to a stop between Percy and Toby.
"Well, at least you're here now," said Percy.
"Right, now that you're all present and accounted for…" Sir Topham Hatt stood on a podium as he addressed the engines. "I would like to announce that there is to be a best dressed station competition on the railway. Every station is to be decorated with flowers, and the winning station shall receive this plaque." He held one up that said "BEST DRESSED STATION" in bold, capital letters. "Now I want you all to help with the arrangements."
The engines all smiled at the notion.
"Oh, Daisy won't be happy that she'll miss this," chuckled Percy.
"What station is your favorite, everybody?" asked Thomas. "Mine's Ffarquhar."
"The top station of our branch line, I wouldn't have guessed," joked Toby. "My favorite is Maithwaite."
"Hmm, Ah think mah favorite is Haultraugh," Donald remarked.
"Of course, where our little pets live," chuckled Duck. "I think I'm in agreement with you, Donald."
"It's really anyone's guess as to which station will win," said Oliver.
"Though you may consider having a washdown before helping with the preparations," laughed Diesel.
"Oh, right," said Oliver, looking down at his buffers.
"Never mind, cous," said Duck. "We'll have a fresh start tomorrow."
"You're right, Duck."
The following morning, Oliver was happy to be cleaned up again, and he buffered up to his trucks, which were loaded with flowers and vegetables and shunted Toad to the back of the train.
"Where's this lot going, Mr. Oliver?" asked Toad.
"To Haultraugh," the Little Western engine explained. "They'll display them on the platform."
"I wonder if Mistress Dilly and Master Dallas will help with arranging them where they're needed," said Toad.
Oliver chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if they do, Toad. Now let's get this lot over there."
Before the duo could move, they saw a young lady walking over to Toad with a guard's whistle and flags in her hands.
"Hello," greeted Oliver. "Are you a new guard?"
"Yes," she smiled. "I'm in training, so to speak. My name is Lillian, but everyone calls me Lily for short."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Lily. I'm Oliver, and that's Toad."
"Pleasure to be your brake van for the day, Miss Lily," greeted Toad politely.
"It is quite an honor to meet the two of you," Lily nodded. "I heard you had a bit of a rough time getting here, and I'm glad Douglas stepped in when he did."
"So are we," said Oliver.
Lily then blew the guard's whistle and waved her green flag before climbing aboard Toad.
Oliver and Toad were making good time along the branch line.
"This is beautiful," smiled Lily. "I could get used to travelling down here."
"If you think this is good," said Oliver, "wait until you see the beaches along the coast. My driver and fireman sometimes go swimming when they have spare time in the summer."
"There's a sort of 'magic' that your island seems to have," Lily said wistfully. "All of you are so united like a big family, despite all of your backgrounds."
"You know, Miss Lily," said Toad, "I don't think that's ever crossed my mind before."
"No indeed," agreed Oliver, "but you've got a- Wait, what's that?!" he exclaimed as he slowed to a stop.
"Well, I'll be!" remarked the driver. "It's a ram!"
The ram looked up at the green tank engine and let out a "baa".
"What's it doing here on the line?" asked Oliver. "And where's its owner?"
"Right here!" called a voice. It was a young man in his early twenties, and he spoke with an Irish accent.
"Oh, hello there, Patch," said Oliver's driver. "Is this one of your family's rams?"
"Aye," said Patch. "Paul here seems to have a mind o' his own. Pop must've forgotten t' feed 'im that mornin'. D'you have anythin' that'll satisfy his appetite?"
"Think we might have just the ticket," said Oliver's driver, walking over to one of the vans. He soon returned with cabbage and handed it to Patch.
"Ah, yes, that'll do," the young farm lad smiled as he handed a leaf over to Paul. The ram accepted the cabbage and slowly walked off the tracks, munching happily away.
"Sorry 'bout this," said Patch once Paul was safely away from Oliver and his train.
"It's alright, Patch," said Oliver. "No harm done. We best be on our way now. Goodbye!"
Lily hopped down from Toad so she could wave her green flag, and she caught sight of Patch for the first time.
"Hey, I haven't seen ye before," said Patch. "I'm Patch, an' ye are?"
"Lily," she replied warmly. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meet ye too," said Patch. "I see ye're already off to a good start as a guard in trainin'. Keep up the good work."
"I will," smiled Lily. "And friendly tip; don't let your rams escape your farm." She blew her whistle and waved her green flag before getting back in Toad, and Patch moved off with Paul.
"I think those two are getting well acquainted already," Oliver remarked.
Oliver and Toad arrived at Haultraugh without further problems. Dilly and Dallas gave friendly quacks at the engine and brake van.
"The station has pet ducks," giggled Lily. "Hello, you two."
"Oh, it's not just them," said Oliver. "They've got ducklings."
Four little ducklings eagerly rushed over, and looked at Lily's lunchbox.
"I think they're expecting a snack," chuckled Toad. "They've learned from their parents well."
"Okay," laughed Lily. "I think I can spare one of my sandwiches." She took one out and broke it into pieces before giving it to the ducklings, and Dilly and Dallas.
"Glad they're eating the sandwich and not the vegetables we brought up," chuckled Oliver.
"I'm glad it was only that cabbage that was eaten," said Toad. "Who knows how many of those things could have been eaten if that ram got onto our train."
Later on, when the station was covered in flowers, Duck puffed in with Old Slow Coach and a few ordinary coaches.
"Oh wow, the station looks beautiful," smiled Old Slow Coach.
"Haultraugh is sure to win first place," agreed Duck.
"Did you hear about the new guard, Duck?" asked Old Slow Coach.
"Lily? Oh, yes," Duck replied. "Pleasant young lady. I can't wait to have her be on one of my trains. I wonder if there's any lilies among the flowers that Oliver and Toad brought up earlier."
"I see a few daisies," said Old Slow Coach. "Pity Daisy may not be able to see any of these flowers at the stations."
"That is a bit of a shame," sighed Duck. "I see a few roses there too," he added with a chuckle. "If only Rosie were here to see this."
"Who's that?" asked Old Slow Coach.
"She's a tank engine from America who was shipped over to the Southern Railway at some point," explained Duck. "She came to Sodor to fill in for Mavis and Diesel when we went on that London trip. If you were here at the time, I would have brought you along for sure."
The two continued to chat for a while before Duck headed over to get refueled on coal and water for the rest of the trip.
"Time for a snooze," Old Slow Coach said to herself.
But it wasn't, for there was a clatter and a rumble of objects at the platform.
"What in Burnell's name?!" exclaimed Old Slow Coach. "Duck, something's wrong."
"Sounds like it came from the station," said Duck. He puffed back from the water tower, but not before his crew made sure it was switched off properly.
"Oh my!" Duck exclaimed. "What happened here?!"
Fruit, vegetables and flowers were scattered all over the platform, and Dilly and Dallas had huddled their ducklings close. The adult ducks were quacking in disbelief.
"Okay, you two," soothed Duck. "Calm down, we'll see who the culprit was."
"It can't be that ram Oliver told us about," said the driver. "If it is, he must've made a meal of the station."
Then there was more trouble.
"Hey!" said a passenger. "Let us into the waiting room!"
"It should be unlocked, right?" asked Old Slow Coach. "I'm no station master, but that's how it usually works."
"Now that is odd, Old Slow Coach," Duck observed. The pannier tank's driver climbed down to investigate.
"What's Paul doing in here?" he asked as he peered through the window. Paul looked at the driver, who then looked more closely inside. "Wait a minute… He's not alone!"
Three young boys were in the waiting room too.
"Let us out!" one of them begged, most likely the leader.
"How did you three get in there?" asked Duck's driver.
"Well," said the second boy, "it's… it was like this. We were bored because our parents were busy, so we slipped over here and decided to have some fun."
"And then," said the third boy, "we were chased by both of those ducks and this ram into the station's waiting room."
"I'm not surprised Dilly and Dallas chased you," grunted Duck from the track. "They thought you might have been trying to hurt their ducklings."
"Not to mention disrupt their station," added Old Slow Coach. "They act as porters, more or less. But that doesn't explain how Paul got back over here."
Just then, Oliver rushed in with Toad; Patch and Lily were both in the brake van.
"Ye think Paul came this way?" asked Patch.
"It seems possible," Lily replied as she and Patch both climbed down.
"My li'l cousin an' his friends also went missin'," sighed Patch. "I hope they're alright."
"Would your cousin and his friends happen to be the little boys in the station's waiting room?" asked Duck. "Paul's with them too."
Patch groaned as he headed towards the window. "I don't believe this!" he snapped. "Richard, George and John, ye three shouldn't ha'e slipped out o' the farm like that!"
"We're really sorry, cous," sighed Richard. "We'll help to clean up."
"Ye'd better," muttered Patch. "I'd imagine yer parents will no' be happy when they hear 'bout this."
"Oliver, Toad, do you two have any more trains for a while?" asked Lily.
"No," Oliver replied. "We were on break when we were called up to help."
"Well, in that case, I'll help here too," said Lily.
"Ye don't ha'e to do that, Lily," Patch told her.
"I want to," she said firmly. "I may be employed to be a guard, but I have to do my part to help the railway in any way I can. And if that means fixing up a station, then that's what I'll do."
"Thank ye, Lily," smiled Patch, and they, the children and the stationmaster got to work. As the people did so, Patch found a lily on the platform.
"It's no' damaged from the impact," he commented. "Er… Lily, do ye want this?"
"Oh… thank you," she replied, and put it behind one of her ears.
"Oh, Oliver," chuckled Duck with a wink. "Do you see what I see?"
"There must be something between them," said Oliver quietly, but loud enough so Duck could hear. Duck's guard blew his whistle, and he and Old Slow Coach departed, still chuckling over what had transpired.
A few days later, Sir Topham Hatt invited Duck, Oliver, Donald and Douglas to Haultraugh - the two Great Western engines had Toad and Old Slow Coach in tow.
"Look!" cried Douglas. "Tis th' Best Dressed Station sign!"
"Ah kind o' figured Haultraugh wid win," chuckled Donald. Dilly gave a firm quack in agreement at her "owner", and two of her ducklings flapped their wings excitedly.
"Good thing Lily helped when she did," said Duck. "Otherwise, this may have not gotten fixed up in time."
Sir Topham Hatt smiled when he caught sight of the engines and brake van and coach. "It was a difficult choice, but I'm glad to say that Haultraugh has won the Best Dressed Station Competition. And that is in part thanks to Lily Wilson, Patch McMains and his ram, Paul."
Lily, Patch and Paul all stood proudly in the crowd.
"Maybe Paul should be a guard ram," chuckled Lily.
"Ye mean like a guard dog in ram form?" asked Patch with a laugh. "I might consider it."
"In addition," continued Sir Topham Hatt, "I have one more prize for Patch and Paul." With a grunt, he lifted a large pumpkin. "Here it is," he said, handing it to Patch.
"Thank ye, sir," smiled Patch, accepting the pumpkin.
"If Paul doesn't like it, I'll eat my hat!" chuckled Sir Topham Hatt.
Then there was trouble; Harold had come in for a landing next to the station. Everyone held onto their hats, except for Sir Topham!
"Oh no!" the controller cried as his hat flew off of his head and landed in front of Paul… who then began to eat it instead of the pumpkin!
"Oh dear," muttered Patch.
"Sorry about this, sir!" called Harold sheepishly.
"Ah well," chuckled Sir Topham Hatt. "It seems like I won't be able to eat my hat even if I had to!"
"Maybe you can make it into pumpkin soup tonight instead," chuckled Lily.
Everyone had a good laugh about it, while the only sound Paul gave out was a contented hiccup.
"Hic!"
THE END
Author's Comments
We've now reached the quarter-marker of Series 5 Redux, this being an adaptation of Baa!, but set on the Little Western. This rewrite marks the debut of Patch and Lily in the Seventyverse, their respective full names being Patrick McMains and Lillian Wilson, their surnames coming from their respective actors in Thomas and the Magic Railroad. This retelling of Patch works on a farm near the Little Western while Lily is a guard in training. I even gave the ram a name, Paul - see if you can figure out why I gave him that name.
Upcoming stories:
- Mavis and the Lorries
- Double Teething Troubles
- A Better View for Gordon
- The Old Warrior
- Lady Hatt's Birthday Party