A/N: Hey guys, welcome back! This week I'm doing things just a little bit differently. In terms of episode order, Tenders and Turntables was supposed to be next. However, Instead I'm doing Henry and the Elephant, and I will explain why at the end. So without further a do, here we go!
Disclaimer: Still do not own Thomas and Friends or any associated characters (no matter how much I wished otherwise).
Chapter 15: Henry and the Elephant
Gordon and Henry were absolutely miserable when Thomas left to run his branchline, and missed him very much. Without him, they had to fetch their coaches for their trains themselves. They didn't like it at all, as it put more work on them that they felt was beneath them. James didn't mind the extra work at first, but as the workload increased he too began to feel the strain.
"We get no rest! We get no rest!" They would moan. The yard workers gave no sympathy, however.
"You're lazy and slack! You're lazy and slack!" They would tell them. Unfortunately Sir Topham Hatt could not find an engine to act as station pilot, and with Thomas and Edward busy with their own lines the three drivers were left to do their own work.
One day, however, they noticed a poster at the side of the shed.
"Come see Topham Circus," James read aloud, "Coming this summer to the Island of Sodor."
"I see you have found my surprise," said a voice. They all turned to see Sir Topham Hatt.
"Topham Circus, which has no relation to me mind you, has come to Sodor to entertain everyone. Their rolling stock will be coming on the next boat, and I need you all to help get things ready."
The three were delighted to help. They were kept busy driving trains full of items from the tent to animal cars. It took a long time, but by mid June the circus was ready for its first show. As a thank you for their hard work, the three were given free tickets to the shows. They found the show to be spectacular.
"These performers are amazing," said Gordon, "I could never do any of these tricks even if I tried."
Sadly the time soon came for the circus to move on to the next town. All three engines wanted to be the engine to pull the train, but in the end it was decided that James would pull it. Gordon and Henry didn't like that at all, but soon forgot about that and went back to moaning about shunting.
One day Sir Topham Hatt came to the shed to speak to Henry.
"The tunnel before Ballahoo is blocked," he told Henry, "I need you to take some workmen to clear it," Henry did so, but grumbled as he did so.
"Why do I have to do this?" He complained, "First I get passed over for pulling the circus train, now I have to go a clear some stupid tunnel? Why do I always get stuck with these jobs?"
They soon reached the tunnel. The workmen got their tools and went in. A few minutes later they raced back out, looking terrified.
"We started to dig at the block," one of the workmen told the foreman, "but then it grunted and moved!"
"Rubbish!" Said the foreman, "It was probably just your imagination. We didn't hear anything. Get back to work!"
"We know what we saw!" Said another, "We won't go back in there again."
The foreman sighed.
"Fine, fine," He said, "Whatever it is, I'm sure all we need to do is give it a good push. I'll ride in the front cars and Henry will use the engine to push it out."
But Henry was horrified with the idea.
"No way!" He shouted, "I'm not going in there! If something is alive in there, I don't want it attacking me!"
"Don't you star," said the foreman, "Besides; we have to clear the line."
Henry begrudgingly agreed, and he drove the train into the tunnel. It wasn't long before a loud noise was heard and the train came out of the tunnel. First was the engine, then the cars, and finally a large, very cross elephant.
"Well I'll be!" Said the foreman, "it must have been separated from the circus!"
They gave it some cake and three buckets of water. It was just about to start on another when Henry accidentally made the engine let off steam.
Wheeeeeeeeeeesh!
The elephant screeched in surprise and sprayed water out of its nose. By the time the workmen had calmed it down, Henry was soaked.
Within minutes the elephant's keeper came to take it back, but Henry was still upset.
"An elephant pushed me! An elephant whooshed me!"
Word soon spread about the accident. Gordon and James felt sorry for Henry, but still teased him about it that night.
"First the rain, then an Elephant," Gordon teased, "You are scared easily!"
Henry paid him no attention and went straight to sleep.
A/N: And that wraps up another chapter! Anyway, the reason why I put this here is because of necessity. Anyone who has read the railway series probably knows that this came before Tenders and Turntables and gave Henry a reason to go on strike. In the television series, however, this story didn't come until season four, giving Henry no other reason to go on strike than because he doesn't like shunting (which was the main reason, but Gordon and James also went on strike because they felt they were being humiliated). Although I felt that the adapted version of this story was a good standalone, it shouldn't have been out of place. So I set things right and am doing the saga how the Reverend W. Awdry wrote it (in terms of order). I will also do this for further sagas where stories are wrongly separated by season, with two exceptions, those being The Trouble with Mud and A Scarf for Percy. The reasons why I am doing this is because A) those stories were good standalones and B) I honestly feel that they didn't offer too much to the story of their respective books. If you feel differently, I respect that but please understand that I have my own opinions and am entitled to them. Thank you, and goodbye.