Keeping Up With George
Today in the Great Big Harbour, the tugboats are bringing in a big ship. That morning, it was Caroquett whom the tugboats are bringing in. All five tugboats are working hard, but none worked even harder than George.
"Come on, come on," George boomed to the others. "Wow," Hank said, "George is sure working hard today." "Yes," Foduck agreed. "Too much," Emily thought to herself. Once Caroquett has been docked, George left immediately to his next job. "Now it's time for barge work!" George shouted. "Hey!" Pearl, who was the pilot boat on duty called out, "Watch where 'you're going!"
But George was already on his way. "Holy cowfish!" Hank exclaimed, "Fast back." "What does that even mean?" Foduck asked Hank. "George is really running," said Theodore. "Is your friend this busy?" Laurie, who was with Theodore the whole time, asked. "Yes," Theodore answered.
"Why?" Laurie asked. "You see," Theodore said, "His long time friend, Shamus is returning. "Who's Shamus?" Laurie asked. "Shamus is an European fishing trawler," Foduck answered. "Who is from the coast of Europe," Hank said.
"I just said that," Foduck told Hank, "Anyway, he hasn't been here for a while, but now, he's coming for a visit." "Wow," Laurie said, "A fishing trawler who is from Europe. Sounds exciting." "Yes," Emily said, "Well, George wants to get his jobs done fast so that he could meet him." "Well," said Theodore, "I'm going to check on him now. Laurie, you want to come?" "Sure," Laurie answered.
And Theodore left with Laurie. "What a tame girl," Hank said. "At least she's not messing around with his safety masts," Foduck said to himself. "What makes you say that?" Hank asked Foduck. "Why did Theodore chose to bring her along this time?" Emily thought to herself, "When last time, she chose to stay behind."
Meanwhile, George had arrived at Brunswick's dock. "Are you ready to go?" George asked the big cargo barge. "Oh yes!" Brunswick answered. "Come on!" George said to Brunswick, "Let's go!" "Right way!" Brunswick said excitedly. George immediately towed away with Brunswick.
"Wahoo!" Brunswick exclaimed excitedly. When George had left, Theodore had already arrived. "Already gone," Theodore said. "Oh well," Laurie said, "He sure is quick." "Especially when he's roaring," a voice said. "Yes," Theodore replied, "Huh?" "Theodore," Laurie said, "That wasn't me."
"Oh, hello," a voice said. Theodore and Laurie immediately turned to see where the voice came from. Both then looked down. "Hi," a small boat said, "I thought you'd forgotten me. "Not me," said Theodore, "R. Boat." "Yeah, whatever," the little rowboat, named R. Boat, said.
"Oh, this is Laurie," Theodore said, introducing the little girl, "Say hello, Laurie. "Hello, R. Boat," Laurie said to the little boat. "Hi," R. Boat said in response, "New here?" "I've found her all alone by herself last week," Theodore explained, "Now I'm taking care of her." "That's good," R. Boat replied. This time, R. Boat didn't say "Then again, maybe not." "What's going on in life?" Theodore asked.
"The Queen Stephanie," R. Boat explained, "Has let me stay here for one month." "Oh yeah," Theodore replied, "During our last visit. That was before I found you, Laurie." "Right," Laurie replied, "I should meet her, right?" "Yes," Theodore replied, "Maybe you can talk to R. Boat."
"Ok," Laurie replied. "And let's go check on George," Theodore said. "Right," R. Boat agreed, "Take me to Mr. Noisy." So, Theodore tied onto R. Boat and the three headed off after George.
By then, George had already reached his destination with Brunswick. "That was fun!" Brunswick exclaimed. "And that's only the beginning," George said after Brunswick's cargo had been unloaded. Immediately, George left, leaving Brunswick behind. "Does this mean I don't get to go home?" Brunswick asked, but go no answer.
That's when Theodore puffed up. "Not again," Theodore groaned. "Well," said R. Boat, "Can't keep up with everything now, can you?" "No," Theodore and Laurie answered. "Uh, hello?" Brunswick said. "Hold on," said Theodore, "I got to take Brunswick home."
"That's fine," said R. Boat. So, Theodore decided to tow Brunswick back home. "Hope we get hit by a moving kelp!" Brunswick said excitedly. "Maybe," said R. Boat, "Maybe not." "Is your barge friend always looking for risks?" Laurie asked. "Yes," Theodore answered.
At the Big Harbour entrance, a big ship named Colchester was waiting to be brought in. Petra was there with the big ship, standing by. "All right," she said to herself, "I'm now a full fledge pilot boat. So this has to go right!" "What did you say?" Colchester asked Petra.
During all this, George did his jobs with several barges and ships. But he rushed through his jobs. "Hold on!" Truro called out. "Come on!" George boomed, "Come on!" Truro was to have his fishing lines worked on today and George was chosen to help.
But of course, George rushed through, not giving Truro a chance to do his job properly. And although Brunswick enjoyed George's barge rushing, Bayswater, Bobby and Guysborough did not. Even Shelburne had to rush his job with George and that caused him problems with his crane. "Come on!" George said to the big sea barge. "Wait," Shelburne replied, trying to dredge properly, but couldn't.
Also, Digby, Stewiacke, Rebecca, Northumberland, and Halliburton had to put up with George's rash behavior. "Come on!" George shouted at everyone. No one was having a good time today. Even Bedford got washed away in George's wake when rushing through his jobs. "Surfs up!" Bedford shouted as he got washed away, "Why did I say that?!"
Emily and Foduck agreed with them. "This has gone too far now!" Foduck exclaimed. "Right!" Emily agreed.
At the Great Ocean Docks, Emily and Foduck were resting when the Dispatcher called them. "There is a big ship out at the entrance," he announced. "We're ready!" Foduck answered. "You will go," the Dispatcher said, "And George will be the tug in charge."
"WHAT?!" Emily and Foduck exclaimed together. "I'm ready!" George boomed and set out immediately. Petra was still with Colchester when George, Emily and Foduck arrived. "Here," said Blandford, but before he could say anything else, George rushed through, splashing Blandford in his wake.
"Come on!" George roared, already ready to go. "Ready," said Petra. "Well, let's go," said Foduck. "Right," said Emily. Petra was ready to guide the ship into the harbour. And although Emily and Foduck were willing to cooperate, George shot forward, almost yanking his towrope.
"Whoa!" Colchester exclaimed. "George!" Emily shouted. "Be careful!" Petra shouted. But George was already in a hurry. "Come on!" he bellowed, blowing up smoke. This time, Colchester, Emily and Foduck couldn't keep up. "Please slow down!" Petra shouted, but George was already in a hurry.
"Come on!" he roared, "I must get my jobs done now!" Emily and Foduck tried to keep the ship steady, but with George racing ahead, they couldn't. Colchester's cargo shifted from side to side. "George!" Petra called out, "You must take it easy!" "I will when the job is done!" George answered back, "Now keep up with me, Emily and Foduck! We have no time left!" "But," Emily called back. "Now!" George shouted.
That is when both Foduck and Emily had enough. They shifted into reverse and pulled back with their towropes still tied onto Colchester. Then even dropped their anchors in the water. "Stand by!" Petra shouted when this happened. But George didn't, until he felt a powerful tug from behind and both he and Colchester shook violently when they stopped immediately. "Wow!" Colchester exclaimed when he stopped.
"Hey!" George exclaimed, "What gives?!" More of Colchester's cargo had shifted, but luckily, none had fallen off his deck. George then turned back to Emily and Foduck. "I warned you," Petra told George. "Why did you stop?" George asked rudely, "We're wasting-"
"Would you shut your mouth for one second?!" Foduck shouted at George in an angry tone. "We can't keep up with you at all!" Emily shouted, "We all had to rush through our jobs because of you!" "Enough is enough!" Foduck said.
"George," Emily said, "We have had it with your rushing behavior! We're not putting up with it anymore!" "But," said George. Soon, everyone else in the big harbour arrived to see what is going on. And they all agreed that George's rushing behavior has caused them problems that day.
Finally George knew what his friends meant. "You think I was being reckless and rash?" George asked. "We know so!" Foduck answered. "Oh," George sighed, finally understanding. That's when Theodore arrived with Laurie on his deck and R. Boat beside him. "Well, I had to put up with bad things," said R. Boat. "Please listen to what your friends are saying," Laurie said to George.
"I do," George replied, "I'm sorry, everyone. I was just so excited to see Shamus again." "Don't worry," said Foduck, "He won't be here until later today." "And it's still afternoon," said Hank, "So there's still time." "You're right," said George, "I was being a reckless idiot. I'm sorry, everyone."
"We forgive you," everyone said. "And I'll fix things," George continued. "Right," said Emily, "And let's start now." "Right," George agreed. "And I know how you can start George," said Petra.
Once Emily and Foduck raised their anchors, they listened to Petra and docked Colchester. Pearl arrived to see the whole thing. "Well done, Petra," Pearl said. "Thanks," said Petra. "And well done, Emily and Foduck," Pearl continued, "And well done, George." "Thanks," George replied.
After that, he set things right. He did his jobs the right way. "This is better than rushing," George said to himself. And his friends agreed.
Finally, after work was done for the day, George set out to the entrance. His friends followed him. Theodore tagged along, too with Laurie on his deck and R. Boat beside him. And thus, Shamus finally had arrived. "Shamus!" George exclaimed. "How do you do?" Shamus replied.
"Long time!" George said. And George told Shamus how life in the big harbour had gone so far. Also, Theodore introduced Shamus to R. Boat and Laurie. "Well," said Shamus, "What a pleasure to meet you two." "Thank you," said Laurie.
"It is a pleasure," said R. Boat, "Then again- Oh, forget it!" Everyone had to laugh. "He seriously hates clams?" Shamus asked Hank and Theodore. "Yes," they replied. "What about clam juice?" Shamus asked.