It was a lovely spring day on the Island of Sodor. The sky was blue, the trees were green, and birds fluttered happily across the sky.
Nia was making her way to Knapford Yard. The Fat Controller had asked her to take a goods train to Peel Godred. Duck's Branch Line was busy, so she would have to use the Main Line up to Abby Junction.
"Good morning, Charlie," whistled Nia. "Which trucks am I taking to Peel Godred?"
"The ones by the warehouse," replied Charlie.
But when Nia saw the line of trucks she was supposed to take, she became nervous. They looked troublesome and Nia had never worked with trucks like them before. Most engines had told her about trucks causing trouble for them…except for one.
Just then, Rebecca steamed into the Yard. Just the engine I wanted to see, Nia thought. "Rebecca, can I ask you something?"
"Of course," the big engine replied. "What is it?"
"From what I've heard, when you took that long line of trucks to Vicarstown, they gave you no trouble. How did you do it?"
"Oh, there was nothing to it, really. The trucks were very lively. We had lots of fun as we made our way to Vicarstown. Just play along with them and everything will be fine."
"Okay, thank you," said Nia, but inside, she wasn't so sure.
The trucks watched as Nia backed down onto them. They had seen Nia before and heard about her too and they thought they would have some fun. "Not another new engine," they groaned. "We want Percy or Edward."
Nia tried to be kind. "Now, now, let's keep our minds on our job and everything will be fine."
"Fine for us," muttered the trucks, but Nia didn't hear.
As Nia made her way along the Main Line, the trucks started wiggling and giggling and it wasn't long until they started to rattle and bump together. "Easy now," she said. "It's a lovely day. Let's enjoy it."
"We are," called the trucks, "but you're not being any fun at all."
Nia chuckled. "I can be fun too." And she started to sing.
"It's such a lovely day,
We have a job to do,
Maybe you don't want to but hey, hey, hey.
If you want to be happy,
What is stopping you,
When you're grumpy
You're in your own way."
"That's no fun," chortled the trucks. "This is fun." And they started to sing.
"Nia's pulling us along,
Nia's pulling us along,
Nia's pulling us along,
We'll give her a bump!"
The Trucks bumped against each other and surged into Nia. "Hey! easy."
"Biff and bash, biff and bash!" laughed the trucks as they rattled along.
Soon, they reached Gordon's Hill and Nia went faster and faster as they approached.
"Hold back, hold back!" called the trucks.
It was a good thing Nia was already going too fast for them to slow down. "Please, calm down," she said.
"Engines don't like it when we're troublesome," whispered the trucks. "Nia wants us to be good, so let's be naughty then."
They reached the top of the hill and Nia's brakes came on. She thought going a little faster down the other side would calm the trucks down, but she wasn't prepared for what happened next.
"ON! ON! ON!" shouted the trucks and bumped Nia fiercely.
Nia tried to play along. She gathered speed down the other side of the Hill. She wasn't used to going so fast. She tried to go slower, but the trucks bumped her again. "What?!" Nia's Driver tried to brake harder, but the trucks wouldn't slow down. "Oh no!" cried Nia and they gathered speed along the line.
A new Signalman was positioned at the Junction before Maron. When he saw Nia, he panicked and sent her off the Main Line. He telephoned ahead to the next signal box and Nia was switched onto the line for the Search & Rescue Centre.
The workmen at the Rescue Centre had been warned just in time. They set the points for the turntable and Butch and Rocky piled as many sandbags as they could on the other side.
It wasn't long before Nia raced in whistling loudly to warn everyone. She suddenly veered towards the turntable and rattled across it. Her wheels left the rails and punctured the sandbags. Some of the trucks derailed with her. Nia slowed down and came to a stop as she reached the road.
Luckily, no one was hurt, but the trucks went on laughing feeling very pleased with themselves. Nia and her trucks were still upright, so it wasn't difficult to get them back on the rails.
The Fat Controller arrived as soon as he could with Edward. "What happened, Nia?" he asked.
The trucks pushed me down the hill, Sir. I tried to slow down, but it was no good."
The Fat Controller sighed. "You've never pulled trucks like these before, so I should've expected this. Still, the important thing is that everyone's safe."
Belle took the Fat Controller back to Brendam Docks and Edward helped Nia and her trucks to Peel Godred. Edward noticed Nia was disappointed. "Are you alright, Nia?"
"I don't understand. Rebecca was able to handle these trucks with no trouble at all. I tried following her advice, but it was no good."
Edward smiled. "Don't feel too bad," he soothed. "You did try to do a good job, but sometimes, not everything works for the same engine. You know, Thomas had the same difficulty with trucks before he got his Branch Line. Maybe I can help you too."
"But what if your way doesn't work either?" asked Nia.
"Then you try something else," said Edward. "That's how you learn to handle things your own way."
So, Edward taught Nia how to handle troublesome trucks. She soon learned to be firm, but fair with them. She showed them she was in charge and didn't bump them unless they mis-behaved. Edward was proud of Nia and Thomas was happy for his friend. Nia may know a lot of things, but even she can learn something new.