HENRY'S ANIMAL ARK
Based upon "Thomas' Animal Ark" by Lee Pressman
It was nearly Christmas on the Island of Sodor, and all the engines were in full swing with the Christmas rush.
"Are you excited for your first Christmas with us, Nia?" asked Henry.
"I sure am," she grinned. "I've never seen snow in Kenya, so this makes a great change." She sighed. "I'm also glad to be spending it with a controller who knows how to treat engines right."
"I'm sure Sir Handel and Peter Sam can tell you the same thing," said Henry.
"I thought they were treated well on the Mid Sodor Railway," Nia blinked in confusion.
"They were," said Henry, "but before they came to the Skarloey Railway, they worked at the aluminum company at Peel Godred, and their manager there was a horrid person. Long story short, they lost three old friends who worked there before they were rescued."
Nia shuddered. "That's horrible. At least they are safe now."
"Sir Topham Hatt and Mr. Percival have habits of saving engines," said Henry. "Myself included."
"You?" asked Nia.
"Maybe I'll elaborate down at the forest between Wellsworth and the viaduct later," said Henry. "Have you ever been down there?"
"I've taken trains past the forest, but never really stopped there," admitted Nia.
"Well, no time like the next break to change that," said Henry. "Though it does look better in the warmer seasons, the snow does make the pine trees look like the Christmas trees."
"It sure does indeed," agreed Nia.
The two engines parted ways with their trains, and as the big green engine headed along, he came to Wellsworth with his passenger train.
"Hello, Henry," said BoCo, coming in with the connection.
"Hello, BoCo," replied Henry. "Nia and Rebecca are looking forward to their first Christmas on Sodor with us."
"That's great to hear," smiled BoCo. "Between them, Isabel, Dulcie and Ivo Hugh, we have a lot of newcomers to the island for Christmas, and Duke's returned with plenty of time to spare too."
"And it's Ivo Hugh's first Christmas, period," said Henry. "I hope he likes the festivities."
"Me too," agreed BoCo. "That's all well and good, but I'm afraid I have some bad news from Headkeeper Jack."
"What is it?" asked Henry.
"The boiler on the animals' winter house has broken down."
"Oh no!" cried Henry. "Will the animals be alright?"
"Jack says that some of them may not survive the winter," said BoCo grimly. "Some are used to an extremely warm climate like India."
"Or Africa, I bet," added Henry. "Nia says it never snows in Kenya where she comes from."
"Derek went to go get a new boiler from the docks, but I'm not sure if he delivered it," said BoCo. "I'm on my way to the docks now, so I'll check with Derek and Cranky."
"Oh, please do," said Henry.
BoCo purred away as carefully and quickly as he could all the way to the docks.
"Has the new boiler arrived yet?" asked BoCo.
"I'm afraid not," sighed Derek. "I'm not sure where it is, mate."
"It's this weather," grunted Cranky. "It's causing all sorts of problems, not just for the railway but the waterways too. The boiler may get here after Christmas at this rate."
"That's not what I wanted to hear," groaned BoCo. "How are the animals at the animal park going to keep warm now?"
"I'm not sure, BoCo," Derek said quietly.
Word eventually managed to get back to Henry via a message from Edward.
"The animals will freeze at this rate!" he cried. "They're not in their usual habitats."
"I'm sure something will come to mind, old friend," said Edward.
"But what…" Henry pondered as he puffed away.
Down at Knapford station, Sir Topham Hatt was with his niece Annabelle, who was holding the ladder at the bottom of the Christmas tree, and some of the engines were watching him put the star up.
"Just a little higher, sir," said Nia.
"Nearly got it," added Bear.
"Sir, sir!"
"Wha-whoa!"
"Uncle Charles!" Annabelle quickly steadied the ladder for him, just in time. Henry came to a stop alongside the platform with a concerned expression.
"What's up, Henry?" asked Bear.
"It's the animals at the animal park," Henry explained. "The old boiler is broken and Derek went to get another one, but the ship's been delayed due to the weather. Some of them come from hot places like India or Africa."
"So… they may not survive in the cold," gasped Nia.
"That's awful," agreed Annabelle. "We've got to do something to help them out."
"But where is a warm place for them to go?" asked Bear. The engines pondered the situation for a moment.
"I know," said Henry. "The Steamworks is really warm."
"Hmm… ah-ha!" said Sir Topham Hatt. "That's it. Henry, go get all the empty trucks you can find and take them to the Steamworks."
"Gee, I wonder where you got that idea?" Annabelle said sarcastically.
"I must have a clever mind-"
"Actually, you stole it from Henry." Annabelle elbowed her uncle. "Give your engines credit where it's due, Uncle Charles."
Henry, Bear and Nia burst out laughing, leaving their controller at a loss for words.
"I like her," grinned Nia.
"Hard to argue with Annabelle Edwina Regaby on that," agreed Henry. "She must've gotten that from her mother."
"I don't think I've met her mother either," said Nia. "Do she and Annabelle hang around the railway a lot?"
"I'm the director of public relations," said Annabelle. "My mom is a policewoman."
"We'll introduce you to Mrs. Regaby later," said Henry. "Right now, I'd better help those animals."
"It would be nice to see those animals at the sheds," said Bear wistfully. Though he and Nia didn't notice, the star that Sir Topham Hatt was holding was glowing.
It wasn't long before Henry had picked up some trucks to carry the animals in.
"It's a good thing the branch line's been strengthened over the years," said Henry as he carefully made his way to the animal park. "I don't think Gordon should take the express down this line on a regular basis though."
As the animal park drew nearer, Henry could see Headkeeper Jack carrying a monkey in his arms.
"Aww, hello little one," cooed Henry at the monkey. The monkey made a few noises in response, and curiously hopped into Henry's cab.
"Hey, you want a cab ride, do you?" chuckled Henry. "I suppose that could be arranged, so long as you don't play with my controls." The monkey made soft noises of agreement in response as the rest of the animals started to climb aboard the train; elephants, ostriches, camels, giraffes, monkeys, zebras, you name it.
"Okay, is everyone safely aboard?" asked Henry, glancing back. The monkey got out to check that the other animals were in the trucks, tapping his head and looking carefully, as if doing a headcount. The monkey gave a thumbs up and wandered back to Henry's cab.
"I think that's a yes, Henry," chuckled his driver.
"Okay, away we go," said Headkeeper Jack.
The big green engine carefully puffed backwards away from the animal park and back to Wellsworth. Once he was back on the main line, Henry started to go forwards at his usual pace. The monkey was waving out Henry's window to everyone who was standing at Wellsworth station.
"There's a lot of sights on the way to the Steamworks, little one," smiled Henry. "And you'll get to meet Victor and Kevin while you're there."
The journey was going very well, until Henry realized there was a bit of a problem.
"Uh oh!" he cried. "What's happened to the transfer yards?!"
"Th' snow's cut it aff, Ah'm afraid," sighed Donald. "It'll tak' a' nicht tae clear it."
"But we don't have all night!" protested Henry. "We need to find a warm shelter for the animals as soon as possible!" The green engine pondered to himself. "Right… I think I have a plan B."
"Where are we going now, Henry?" asked Headkeeper Jack.
"You'll see, Headkeeper Jack," said Henry. "Just trust me on this one."
Henry continued to puff down the line. On the way he met up with Murdoch coming in the other direction.
"Murdoch, be careful!" called Henry. "I saw some thick snow drifts near Gordon's hill."
"Thanks, Henry," said the heavy goods engine. "Oh, an' some snow's pretty thick near Ballahoo tunnel. Ye'd best be careful too."
"I will," replied Henry. "I just hope there's not a drift there too."
But I'm sorry to say that Henry was wrong. As he came up to the tunnel where he was bricked up many years ago, he was very surprised to see an orange shape out the other end.
"Henry, watch out!"
"Nia?!" exclaimed Henry as he came to a stop. "What are you doing out here?"
"I was supposed to deliver an urgent goods train from the Ffarquhar branch to Vicarstown for a Christmas celebration, but I ended up in this snowdrift instead," sighed Nia.
"Are you alright?" asked Henry.
"Well, at least I know how Thomas felt when he got stuck in snow for the first time," said Nia. "It's really cold."
Henry anxiously glanced back at his train of mostly four legged passengers.
"We need to get the animals to a warm place soon, Henry," said Headkeeper Jack. "The tunnel isn't the best shelter from the cold."
"Don't I know that well," muttered Henry.
"Huh?" asked Nia.
"I'll tell you another time," sighed Henry. "Right now, we need to figure out how to get you out of the snowdrift and get these animals to a warm place - the Steamworks has been blocked off by snow too."
"What about using the elephants on your train to help out?" suggested Nia.
"Elephants?!" cried Henry. "Oh no, I'm not dealing with elephants on the rails again."
"Why not?" asked Nia. "I remember a time where elephants were very helpful…"
I was puffing along with some trucks, when suddenly, there was a loud crack.
"Hapana! Driver!" I called. "There's a tree coming down! Brakes!"
My brakes squealed on, and I barely came to a stop just inches away from the tree.
"Hevi kabisa!" I cried. "We'll never be able to move this!" We would've been stuck waiting for hours for help to come, had a herd of elephants not seen the situation. They curiously sniffed at the tree, and wrapped their trunks around it, moving it out of the way.
"Aww," I cooed. "Look, I see a baby among them."
The baby elephant gave a friendly wave of her trunk before trotting off to move a smaller branch out of the way. As I started puffing away, they started to eat the fallen tree for their lunch.
"Wow…" said Henry quietly. "You were really lucky they were helpful."
"Maybe these elephants will be," Nia encouraged. "You never know until you try."
"I… guess we don't really have a choice," sighed Henry. The elephants that were on the train were led out of their trucks and started to push Nia out of the snowdrift with their heads. In doing so, they knocked out much of the snowdrift onto the ground on either side of the tracks, clearing the path for Henry.
"Aww, thank you for the assistance, elephants," smiled Nia.
The elephants gave friendly trumpets to Nia before they made their way back to their trucks.
"Oh…" gasped Henry. "I guess they really can be helpful. Er… thank you, elephants."
Both engines started off again towards Vicarstown; Nia at the station and Henry at the sheds.
"I wonder where Henry is," said Rosie. "It's not like him to be late."
"I hope he delivered the animals safely," said Bear.
"What animals?" asked Dennis. Before anyone could answer, the engines noticed Henry arriving at the sheds with the animals in tow.
"Henry?" gasped Murdoch. "What were ye doin' wi' the animals, anyway?"
"Trying to get them to the Steamworks," said Henry. "But the transfer yard to the Steamworks has been cut off, so I decided to bring them to plan B instead."
"You mean right here?!" exclaimed Dennis. "There's no way I'm sharing a shed with some stripy horses and overgrown chickens!"
"For your information," came Nia's voice as she came around the bend, "those 'stripy horses' are zebras, and they don't whinny or neigh like horses do. As for the 'overgrown chickens', they are ostriches, and they can run much faster than chickens."
"Oh, hello, Nia," greeted Rosie. "Are you going back to Tidmouth for the night?"
"Well, the weather's terrible," sighed Nia. "If you don't mind, I think I'll crash here for the night. Er, not literally, mind you."
"Oh, don't worry," chuckled Bear. "We all know what you mean. I think Rosie would appreciate having another girl around for the night."
"Yeah, come on in," said Rosie. "The less we stay out in the cold, the better."
The engines and animals all got into the sheds. With the exceptions of Bear and Dennis, the engines' boilers were still very warm, and the animals were able to get cozy in the shed with them.
The next morning, Sir Topham Hatt had come to Vicarstown sheds with Annabelle in tow.
"Good morning, engines," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Merry Ch- oh! Why are the doors still shut?"
"That's very strange, Uncle Charles," said Annabelle, opening up one of the doors. She and her uncle were most surprised with what they were seeing!
"Where did all these animals come from?!" she and Sir Topham Hatt exclaimed.
"Well, sir, Annabelle," said Henry, "the Steamworks was blocked off, so I couldn't get the animals there, so I took them here instead."
"It's a bit noisy for mah likin'," sighed Murdoch. "An' this ostrich is using mah bufferbeam as a nest."
The ostrich in question then moved off, leaving Rosie blinking in surprise.
"What's that under your smokebox, Murdoch?" she asked. The big orange tender engine looked down with surprise to see that the ostrich had laid an egg on his running board.
"It'll have to stay there until it hatches, Murdoch."
"Oh dear…" sighed Murdoch. "Babysittin' birds… Can this get any stranger?"
"Well, the good news is," said Sir Topham Hatt, "with the exception of the egg and mother ostrich, the animals can go back to their home because the new boiler's finally arrived."
"That's good to hear," said Bear. "I'm going to miss these animals though."
"It is a very giving season, Bear," said Annabelle, "and I'm glad you all had it in your hearts to help out everyone."
When no one was looking, one of the ostriches picked up Sir Topham Hatt's hat and started to wear it around the sheds.
"Wait, where's my… Hey, get back here with that!"
The engines and Annabelle couldn't help but laugh at the display.
"Is Sir Topham Hatt always this goofy?" whispered Nia to Henry.
"Not usually, no," said Henry. "You know, I still haven't shown you the forest. How about we go there after we complete our jobs the day after Boxing Day?"
"I'd like that very much, Henry," smiled Nia. Rosie giggled as she saw the display between the two engines.
"Well, looks like I'm not the only one happy by Nia's company from last night," she said quietly.
On the day after Boxing Day, December 27, Rosie saw Henry about to depart with his first passenger train.
"So, you're going to be hanging out with Nia at the forest when you're done today, right?" she grinned.
"Well, yes," said Henry. "We both like animals, so I think this will be a nice change of pace for her."
"Maybe you two will find upendo," Rosie chuckled as she headed off to shunt another train for Bear.
"Upendo?" asked Henry. "Okay, what does that mean?"
Meanwhile, Nia had taken her first train back to the Ffarquhar branch line following her stay at Vicarstown. Thomas stood with his coaches - Ashley, Pearl and Dinah were still visiting.
"Welcome back, Nia," Thomas greeted. "How was your stay down at Vicarstown?"
"I was hoping to spend my first Christmas on Sodor at Tidmouth," said Nia, "but it was a lot of fun to spend it at Vicarstown with the animals."
"That does sound like a lot of fun," grinned Thomas. "I heard that some animals there came from Africa. I bet you had a lot of fun educating everyone about them."
"I did," smiled Nia. "Henry was the most intrigued by it all. And he promised to show me the forest when we're done with work for the day."
Thomas couldn't help but notice that Nia's smile seemed brighter than he had ever seen it before.
"Don't chat him up too much while you're down there, Nia," chuckled Thomas as he puffed away with the coaches, all five of them giggling at the thought.
"Wh-what?" Nia blushed bright red.
I'm sorry to say that Henry and Nia were a bit oblivious to what they had started during their time at Vicarstown together, at least at first, but they did enjoy spending time at the forest that afternoon.
"Aww, look at the baby deer!" smiled Henry.
"Come on, you can stand up, little one," cooed Nia.
As if hearing their encouragement, the little deer managed to get upright on its legs and bounded happily after its mom.
"I could stay at the forest all afternoon," said Henry.
"It's very peaceful," smiled Nia. "I can see why you love it so much."
"We could make this a recurring occasion, if you like," said Henry.
"I sure would," said Nia.
And what about that baby ostrich? Well, Murdoch had to stay in the sheds with the mother ostrich until it hatched. I can't say he was pleased about staying still each day, but when the baby finally hatched…
"Aww," he said quietly. "Welcome to the world, little one."
THE END
Author's Comments
And so we conclude season one of The International Railway Series! Thomas' Animal Ark is another episode that was intended for series 21 before it got cut short (hence Henry's appearance at Knapford and Carly's speaking role), and I believe that there was never meant to be a reference to Trusty Trunky (which will happen for season two of IRWS), but rather, Henry and the Elephant instead. That kind of says a lot as to how Henry was screwed over in the actual series 22-24, but then again, it says a lot as to how he's been treated since literally the beginning. I believe that we did Henry justice here, coming up with the idea to help the animals out as well as tying in his history with elephants; it almost feels like the episode was made for him to play a role in. We even added in the bonus scene from the life lesson segment at the end where the baby ostrich hatches (for the record, he was named in Henry's honor following the event; ostriches take about five or six weeks to hatch).
The International Railway Series will resume at some point with its second season, beginning with the seventh book overall, Percy and the Chinese Engines!
