Steamed Turkey

November was a pretty normal time for all the engines, and that was alright for them. But as the month of November went by, the engines began to think about a certain holiday… Thanksgiving.

People all over America were getting ready for the holiday. The engines found themselves hauling more food than ever. They rolled up and down the line pulling cars full of Pumpkins, Fruits, Vegetables, Bread, Ham, and most importantly, Turkey.

At Ramsey Sheds, the engines were discussing all their extra work.

"Only a week till Thanksgiving, and I'm still hauling enough cars to make people think that it's a month away" said Jake.

"I know, a few days ago I was hauling a train full of Pumpkins that was almost half a mile long" said Josh.

All the engines knew that all of these things were important for Thanksgiving, but Sam was confused. "Why do people need Pumpkins for this holiday, I thought pumpkins were for Halloween" he asked.

"Your right Sam, but at Thanksgiving, Pumpkins are used for Pumpkin Pie" said Roku.

"Oh, I see" said Sam "But explain to me again; what is Thanksgiving all about".

"Well Sam, Thanksgiving is a holiday that celebrates the founding of our country and of the pilgrims arriving here from England. Christopher Columbus founded America back in 1492. Ever since then, people from Europe, Asia, and many other places wanted to come to the new land he had discovered. Many years later, Pilgrims came over and settled here. Soon, they had started their own community. That's how America became what it is today. People usually celebrate this holiday by sitting with their family and eating a big meal. The main course is usually Turkey" explained Jaime.

"Wow, that is really interesting" said Sam "but why is the main course Turkey"?

"Don't know, but really who cares. Turkeys are just silly little birds. All they do is gobble, and walk around. Maybe they eat them just so they can be of good use" said Josh, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I wouldn't be so cocky about turkeys Josh. They can be troublesome if you provoke them" said Jaime.

"He's right, I once heard of a group of turkeys that attacked a few farmers that tried to cage them" said Albus.

Josh snorted "Please, turkeys are just oversized birds that are used to satisfy people's appetites on Thanksgiving".

But then, a black car pulled up, and out stepped Mr. Copper. "Hello sir, what are you doing here" asked Rose.

"I have news for Josh and Sam" said Mr. Copper. Albus and Josh listened intently.

"Josh, you are to go to the farms to collect a large load of Turkeys and take them to the processing plant. They need to get them ready for next week" said Mr. Copper.

Then he turned to Sam. "Sam, you are to go to the Granaries to collect the bread, and also take them to the Processing Plant. It will be made into stuffing".

"Uh, okay sir" said Sam, a little confused.

"Good" said Mr. Copper, and he walked back to his car and drove off.

"So, what is stuffing" asked Sam.

"Its bread crumbs that they use to fill in the empty space in turkeys" said Jake.

"Oh, well, then this job should be easy" said Sam.

"But my job is going to be the easier. All I have to do is pick up some stupid birds" said Josh.

"I wouldn't say that so soon Josh. You may find that turkeys can be more trouble than you think" said Samantha.

"Oh Please, I'll get this done super quick, just you wait and see" and with that, Josh pulled out of the sheds.

It wasn't long before Josh arrived at the farms with some livestock cars. The farmers were standing next to the tracks, with a large amount of crates behind them. A weird gobble noise was coming from them.

"Ah good, the engines here. Right men, let's get these Turkeys loaded up" said the farmer. So after Josh had stopped, the farmer and his workers started loading up the crates.

Soon, all the crates had been loaded into the cars. "All clear back here" said a worker, who was closing a door and locking it.

"Too easy" said Josh as he began to puff away from the farm. However, something was wrong. Josh and his crew didn't know that the workman had not locked the last car properly. The door rattled and shook as Josh headed towards the Processing Plant.

Josh was nearing the Processing Plant. It was only a mile further down the line.

"Just like I said, Turkeys are just silly birds" said Josh smugly.

His driver was watching the line ahead; to make shure all was clear. But then, the driver saw that they were approaching a red signal too fast.

"Brake" called the driver. The fireman quickly grabbed the brake and pulled it down. Now Josh could see why the signal was red; Sam's train was on the track ahead. If they didn't stop now, there could be an accident.

Josh's wheels flew sparks all around as he got nearer and nearer to Albus' train. Then, they came to a stop a little distance away from the caboose.

But then, just after Josh had stopped, there was a slamming noise, and then the sound of something crashing. "What was that" asked Josh.

But his driver didn't have to say anything, because just then, turkeys started to run all over the place. The driver looked back and gasped. The last car's door had flown open, spilling cages all over the tracks. One or two of the crates were closed, but the rest had opened, allowing the turkeys to get out. The conductor was already trying to round them up.

"Come on, we have to get those Turkeys back into their cages" said the driver to the fireman.

But it was easier said than done. Every time they tried to grab a turkey, it would jump out of their grip and run away.

"Got ya" said the driver, grabbing a turkey. But then "Ouch" he screamed, and dropped the turkey, which ran away. "It pecked my hand" said the driver, looking at his lightly bleeding hand.

However, it wasn't long before they got the last turkey into its cage. "Few, glad that's over" said the fireman. The conductor was just about to shut the door, when he saw that there was still one empty cage on the ground.
"Hey, there's still one left" he said to the fireman.

"Hu, were could it have gone to" he asked.

"Who cares, it's just one turkey. Now I'm heading back to the cab to get my hand bandaged" said the driver, with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Maybe he's right, it is just one turkey" said the fireman.

Up at Josh, the driver was starting to climb into the cab, but when he did, he couldn't believe what he saw. The last turkey had climbed into the cab, and was sitting in front of the firebox.

The driver climbed back down, and ran to the back of the train. "I think I know where the last turkey is" he said to the two.

So all three walked up to Josh, and poked their heads into the cab.

"There he is, but how are we going to get him" asked the conductor.

"Maybe we can sneak up on him, we just have to be quiet" said the fireman.

"Good idea, quick, get the cage" said the driver.

Soon everyone was in position. The driver was going to get the turkey away from the firebox, and the fireman was going to make shure he could only get out on the left side. Finally, the conductor was ready to catch the turkey in its cage.

"Now everyone keep quiet" said the driver, very quietly.

He edged near the turkey, ready to grab him. But then, a huge voice rang out.

"WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG" called Josh. The turkey turned his head, saw the driver, and quickly scampered away. "Grab him" called the driver.

The fireman tried, but the turkey ran past him, out of the cab.

But as soon as it jumped out, the turkey became cold again. He knew not to go back into the cab, so he looked around for another heat source. Then, he noticed that Josh's pistons were very slowly hissing steam.

"Heat" thought the turkey, and he walked over to the pistons and curled up.

The driver, fireman, and conductor got out of the cab, and spotted the turkey near Josh's pistons.

"Okay, we need to think of a new plan" said the driver.

Josh, who could hear them, was getting impatient. "Oh for Pete Sake, just do this" said Josh. And he weeshed his steam. The steam hit the turkey, and it shot up. It ran away from Josh and towards the conductor, and scrambled into his cage.

The conductor, still a little surprised, quickly shut and locked the cage.

Everyone was silent for a moment, before the driver said "Good Plan Josh". Josh smiled "Thanks, but now can we get going" he asked.

After the conductor had put the cage in the last car and properly locked it, they once again set off for the Processing Plant.

That evening, Josh arrived back at the sheds. Most of the engines were there, except for Rose, Jaime, and Merida, who were still working.

"Hi Josh, so how was your turkey delivery" asked Roku.

"Well" said Josh, reversing into his shed "I would like to say that I wasn't quite right".

"Really" said Matthias, a little surprised.

"Yes, let me tell you why" said Josh, and he told them about the turkeys getting out.

"So, you guys were right, turkeys can be troublesome. However, I was also right. They are no trouble, at least for an engine" he said smiling.

Sam let out a laugh "well, then I guess all of us learned something today".

And all of the engines agreed with him.

Not the best chapter I've written. I only came up with the idea for this chapter yesterday. Still, I hope you enjoyed it. Also want to say thanks to D.J. Scales for the help.