Duke Steps In
Set after the events of 'Peter Sam & The Refreshment Lady', exclusively for Thomas's 75TH Anniversary. Sir Handel, who is still in the shed, has been teasing Peter Sam about what happened with him and the Refreshment Lady. But The Fat Controller doesn't like Sir Handel being rude to Peter Sam, and neither does Duke, or Skarloey. Can words from them bring Sir Handel to his senses?
[I do not own Thomas & Friends, or The Railway Series]
Do you remember when Peter Sam accidentally left the Refreshment Lady behind? It was an accident, of course, but Sir Handel, who was shut up in the shed, saw no end in teasing him about it. But The Fat Controller and Skarloey didn't like it, and neither did an engine both Sir Handel and Peter Sam knew all too well.
Howzabout I tell you what happened.
[We begin with a CGI recreation of the end scene of Peter Sam & The Refreshment Lady, where the Refreshment Lady is speaking to Peter Sam]
"What do you mean by leaving me behind?!" the Refreshment Lady shouted at Peter Sam, shaking her fist.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry, Refreshment Lady," said Peter Sam, "but Henry told me he would leave without my passengers if I was late again." "And... that includes you." he added, chuckling nervously.
The Refreshment Lady stared sternly at Peter Sam, but suddenly, her frown turned into a smile, and then, she started to laugh.
"You silly little engine!" she laughed. "Henry wouldn't dare go! He was just teasing you!"
"WHAT?!" Exclaimed Peter Sam in shock.
"He wouldn't have gone without your passengers! He's GOT to wait! He's a guaranteed connection!" The Refreshment Lady said as she walked to Henry's train. "You need to stop believing things that aren't true!" she added, chuckling as she went.
"Well!" said Peter Sam angrily, "Where's that Henry!"
Peter Sam was too late that time; for Henry had already chortled away!
He could only watch as Henry puffed away, chuckling slightly.
Peter Sam sighed in disappointment, as he puffed back to the sheds, feeling very silly indeed.
[Cut to the Skarloey Railway sheds. Peter Sam returns to the sheds, puffing in between Sir Handel and Skarloey.]
Sir Handel, who was still in the shed after his naughtiness, heard about the incident, and started teasing Peter Sam when he returned.
"Oh dear, oh dear, Peter Sam! Fancy leaving the Refreshment Lady behind! You are a very stupid engine!" Sir Handel said, chuckling naughtily.
"Sir Handel, don't be so nasty!" snapped Skarloey. He turned to Peter Sam. "You didn't mean it, Peter Sam. It was an accident, after all."
"Yeah," sighed Peter Sam. "But Skarloey," he said, "It was actually all my fault, I should have listened when you told me to stay calm."
"That's ok, Peter Sam, but you shouldn't have listened to what Henry said." Skarloey told him. "He tricked you."
"And, being the most silliest little engine you are," interrupted Sir Handel, "you fell for his trick! How stupid you are!" He chuckled rudely.
"You stay out of this, Sir Handel!" Peter Sam snapped.
"Oh, shut up, Peter Twitface!" Sir Handel shouted, which in turn, upset Peter Sam, Skarloey, and, it made some nearby workmen glare at Sir Handel.
Skarloey sighed. "Just ignore him, Peter Sam." he said. "He's got a lot to think about after what he's done. Maybe things will be better in the morning."
THE NEXT DAY...
But the next day, things were no better. Sir Handel was rude to Peter Sam all day.
I'm sorry to say the narrator was right.
As Peter Sam was shunting some coaches, Sir Handel said, "Be careful with those cattle trucks, Bumble Wheels!" and laughed rudely at him.
"Oooh, what a horrid engine!" said one of the coaches Peter Sam was shunting. "He certainly is!" said another.
And Peter Sam agreed with them. A few minutes later, he was getting washed.
"Get going, Wet Wheels!" said Sir Handel, rudely. "Ya don't wanna look awful for the Refreshment Lady!"
The workmen cleaning Peter Sam looked at Sir Handel angrily, a few of them shaking their heads. Peter Sam frowns, as does Skarloey from behind Peter Sam.
The workmen didn't like Sir Handel being rude to Peter Sam, and neither did Skarloey.
Unbeknownst to them, another engine was listening in on what was going on...
Before long, Peter Sam got so annoyed, he had had enough of Sir Handel's teasing. But that didn't stop Sir Handel being rude to the bigger engines!
[James puffs past the Skarloey Railway sheds]
"Get moving and move those horrible smelly trucks out of the way, Tomato Wheels!" Sir Handel shouted rudely at him.
James was offended. "How rude to a splendid engine like me!" He puffed away, pouting.
Later, Duck passed by. and Sir Hnadel said, "Quack, quack, quack, Feather Face! You should be in a pond, not on the rails!" and laughed at him rudely.
"How rude!" Duck said angrily, and puffed away.
Peter Sam had heard what Sir Handel had said to James, and to Duck. "That wasn't very nice, what you said to James and to Duck!" he scolded.
But all Sir Handel said was, "Stay out of this, you... you... Ever Green Fatface!"
Peter Sam was so upset, he puffed away sulkily. Some nearby workmen glared at Sir Handel. They'd had enough of his teasing.
"Sir Handel, this insulting really has to stop!" the first workman snapped.
"Yeah!" snapped the second. "You're a very rude engine!"
"Oh, be quiet!" Sir Handel snapped at the workmen, and then, He blew steam at them, making them cough, and walk away, grumbling.
Skarloey was fed up. He'd had enough of Sir Handel's bullying.
Edward, who was passing by, saw that Skarloey was fed up. "Skarloey? What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's Sir Handel." Skarloey sighed. "He's being rude to Peter Sam ever since he had his incident with the Refreshment Lady. I tell him to stop it, but it does no good. He's now being rude to the bigger engines. He even called me 'a rusty old tractor', as well!"
"Well, that isn't very nice." said Edward. "I think I know someone who could help."
He puffed away.
Edward puffed to Wellsworth Station to speak to the Fat Controller.
"What's wrong, Edward?" asked the Fat Controller.
"Sir, It's Sir Handel." said Edward. "He's been teasing Peter Sam ever since his accident with the Refreshment Lady."
"What?" said the Fat Controller in shock.
"He's been calling Peter Sam names," Edward went on, "and, i heard he even told him to shut up! He even started being rude to the bigger engines!"
The Fat Controller became angry, and straightened his hat, like he often did when he was angry.
The Fat Controller was not very happy when he heard the news.
Later that evening, his car pulled up outside the Narrow Gauge sheds. Sir Topham Hatt got out, and marched up to Sir Handel, looking very cross, followed by his valets.
That evening, he came up to the sheds, with stern words for Sir Handel.
"Sir Handel," he said sternly, "I have heard that you have been teasing Peter Sam lately."
Sir Handel was surprised. "I only made a joke about when he left the refreshment lady behind, sir-" he started, but The Fat Controller cut him off.
"It wasn't funny, Sir Handel, and you know it." he said sternly.
"Exactly!" said Peter Sam. "I don't like being teased, Sir Handel!"
"But it's only harmless fun!" Sir Handel argued. "It's the best fun i've had in ages, since i was shut up in the shed!"
"The Fat Controller is right, Sir Handel. Or should I say... Falcon?" said a Voice offscreen, in the same voice as Max Tennyson from the original Ben 10 series.
THEN, Something puffed into view, and then, The Fat Controller, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, and Skarloey gasped when they saw who it was: There, on the rails, with the rock entrance music from Dowager Hatt's Busy Day in the background, was Duke, the Lost Engine.
"Granpuff?! But we thought you were...
"Gone?" Duke chuckled. "Not entirely."
"What I said was pretty funny, Granpuff!" said Sir Handel.
"It wasn't funny at all, Sir Handel, and you know it." Duke said sternly. "You really hurt Peter Sam's feelings."
"Well," Sir Handel said defiantly, "Peter Sam was so stupid to leave the refreshment lady!"
"No, he wasn't! shouted Skarloey.
"Stay out of this, old timer!" Sir Handel snapped.
"Sir Handel," Duke said, "why do you think you got shut up in the shed? Was it because of how rude you were to the coaches?"
"Oh, shut up, Granpuff!" Sir Handel snapped angrily.
Duke gasped, and became angry, as did Skarloey and Peter Sam.
Sir Topham Hatt sighed. "Sir Handel, Duke is right." He said firmly. "Just because I punished you, it doesn't mean you have to take it out on other engines, big or small. I know all about what happened with Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady, and I had a word with Henry about it. He's promised not to make up silly tricks to other engines again."
"Serves him right, I bet." Sir Handel said to himself.
"You're just lucky you didn't end up like Smudger, Sir Handel." Duke told him.
"Who's Smudger?" asked Skarloey.
"Smudger, was a show-off." said Duke. "he worked on the railway a long long time ago, long before Stuart and Falcon came to my old railway."
"Stuart and Falcon?" The Fat Controller said in confusion [without delay].
"He means me and Peter Sam, sir." Sir Handel told The Fat Controller. "They were our names before we were bought."
"And renamed." Peter Sam added.
"Ah, That makes sense." Sir Topham said, realizing what Duke meant.
"I remembered Smudger all too well, sir." said Duke. "He was a show-off. He rolled around roughly, and often came off the rails. I warned him to be careful, but he took no notice. He just laughed at me and called me names. But then one day, Manager told him he would be useful at last. And Smudger stopped laughing then."
"What did he do?" asked Skarloey.
Duke paused impressively. "He turned him into... a generator."
The 3 narrow gauge engines gasped in horror.
"Yes," said Duke firmly. "He would never move again." He looked at Sir Handel. "Is that what you want to happen to you, Sir Handel?" he asked.
Sir Handel went quiet and looked at his buffers. He didn't want to be turned into a generator, like Smudger was.
"Oh... I... I hadn't thought of that." he said quietly.
"You never do." said the Fat Controller sternly. "And I believe," he added, "you owe Peter Sam, Duke, and Skarloey an apology."
"Yes, sir." Sir Handel said sadly. "I'm sorry for being rude to you all, and calling Peter Sam names, and teasing him, and to the bigger engines too."
The 3 engines frowned, but then they smiled.
"Apology accepted, Sir Handel." Peter Sam said. Duke agreed with him.
"Good. Now, Sir Handel," said The Fat Controller, "I can let you out of the shed tomorrow."
Sir Handel was estatic at getting back to work again. he said, "Oh, thank you Sir, I-"
"IF," The Fat Controller interrupted, "you be nice to everyone, engines AND coaches, big and small, from now on."
"Oh yes, sir, I will, sir. I promise, sir." Sir Handel said honestly, and earnestly.
Sir Handel kept his word. He was polite and nice to the coaches all day.
Sir Handel buffered up gently to the coaches. "Grumpy Sir Handel, Grumpy Sir Handel!" the coaches muttered, hoping he would be rude again.
But no, Sir Handel wasn't rude to the coaches this time; he was polite as he could be. He ignored their mutterings, and gently buffered up, and pulled them out of the shed.
And from then on, Sir Handel behaved very well, and he never teased Peter Sam again. All thanks to Duke.
Author's note:
How's that for a Thomas 75TH ANNIVERSARY FANFIC?
I really hope Sir Handel learnt his lesson, don't you?
After all, It isn't fun to hurt someone's feelings, just because they made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes! and remember, some jokes are funny, but not all of them! Especially when they can cause problems!
READ & REVIEW!
and...
Happy 75th anniversary, Thomas the Tank Engine!