It had been raining in Tarrytown, and the planes were miserable. E.Z Airlines couldn't afford to close, so the planes had to continue doing their jobs as usual, meaning that they got cold and wet constantly every time they had a job to do.
One day, Brenda Blue, the airport mechanic, came up to Old Oscar. "Big Jake's taken ill," She said. "You're needed to take some hay for the cows at the Tarrytown Dairy. Do you think you can do it?"
"Of course I can!" Old Oscar replied. "Where is it?"
"It's waiting for you by the runway. Good luck – and take care!"
So Old Oscar set off for the runway. He was given the hay, but he had to wait a while for it to be loaded properly and secured. Old Oscar felt impatient, as his paintwork was getting very wet, and he wanted to get on with his journey so that he could go and get it over with, and then get inside the warm, dry hanger again.
At last, after nearly ten minutes, all the hay was loaded, and Old Oscar took off. He flew well, and he did the journey as fast as he could without breaking safety rules – which was only a little bit faster than his usual speed.
All he could see around him were gigantic grey clouds pouring cold wet rain down on him and everything below him. Old Oscar felt some rain get in his eyes so the pilot had to slow him down in order to avoid an accident.
"Are you alright, Oscar?" He asked.
"Yes I'm fine." Old Oscar replied. "I just got a bit of rainwater in my eyes."
"Okay then. But be careful if you get more in your eyes again." The pilot answered, and redirected his attention to the plane's controls.
...
Soon, Old Oscar had arrived at the Tarrytown Dairy. He was glad to deliver the hay, and the dairy owner was pleased too. "Thanks, Old Oscar!" The dairy owner said. "Now the cows can have something warm and dry to rest on in this horrid weather."
"I'm always glad to help." Old Oscar replied. "I'd best head back. You take care."
"You better take care yourself – I don't like where this rainfall is going." The dairy owner warned, and with that Old Oscar set off for home.
...
On his way home, Old Oscar felt something strange happen to his paint. He couldn't see what was happening, and he was unable to describe it, but it worried him, because he never felt that before. So, he decided to ask Brenda about it when he returned. Maybe she knew what was wrong.
"There's the airport!" The pilot reported, and Old Oscar was relieved. Soon he'd be able to rest his weary wings and be warm and dry. He'd also ask Brenda what was wrong with him.
...
When he landed and finally returned to the hanger, he told Brenda about it. "Yes, that does sound strange. I'll check it out for you." She told the old plane.
"Thank you Brenda." Old Oscar said gratefully.
Brenda ran her hand along where Old Oscar had the funny feeling, and then she felt roughness lightly graze her hand. When she pulled it away, she saw the problem.
"Your paintwork's starting to rust away," She told him. "It must be from the rain."
Old Oscar was upset when he heard the news. "But I don't want to rust!" He protested. "I may be old, but I'm in my prime!"
"Don't worry Oscar. It's easily fixed." She told him soothingly, and she went to look for something buried deep in her workshop. When she returned, she was holding a container filled with a strange looking liquid. It didn't look like water, but he didn't know what it was.
"This stuff's called citric acid- and it shall clear the rust right up. It wouldn't hurt."
Old Oscar waited as Brenda cleared away the rust with the liquid. "There, you're looking as good as new." She told him a few moments later.
"Well, I don't want to get covered in rust again!" He huffed in reply. Then he had an idea that meant he wouldn't get covered in rust ever again. "I'm not going out again." He said stubbornly.
Brenda almost dropped the container in surprise.
"But you can't stay in the hanger!" She told him. This made the old plane very cross, and he glared at her.
"Fine. I'll stay in here until the rain stops!" He argued.
"But Oscar, what if you're needed to go out?" She asked him. "Mr E.Z O'Malley would be very cross with you. You only had to go out before because Big Jake had caught a very nasty cold after he ran out of fuel."
Old Oscar said nothing, but he still refused to budge from the hanger. Just then, Jay Jay pulled up beside Old Oscar.
"Hello!" He said cheerfully. "What's wrong?"
"Hello Jay Jay." Brenda replied. "Oscar's refusing to go in the rain because it spoiled his paintwork by rusting it."
"But you don't have rust Oscar." Jay Jay said to Old Oscar in confusion.
"Brenda cleaned it off. But I still refuse to go outside!" Old Oscar huffed indignantly.
Jay Jay thought about it. "Well, if Brenda got it off before, then she can do it again when it's needed." He pointed out.
"True." Old Oscar replied.
"Besides, you were being really helpful when you took the hay to the cows at the Dairy." Brenda added. "Mr O' Malley got a phone call from the Dairy Owner, and he heard you were wonderfully helpful, especially in the bad weather- and even more so because it was Big Jake's job originally, but you were the only one available after he got the cold." continued.
"Yeah!" The young blue jet agreed.
This brought a smile to the old plane's face. He always liked helping other people. "Well, you've got a point," He told them, still smiling. "I'll stay here for now, but as soon as someone else needs help, I'll brave the rain for them.
"That sounds good to me." Brenda said, and the three friends watched the rain fall outside- from the warmth of the indoors.
And Old Oscar remained true to his word.