NIA, ROSIE AND THE ELEPHANT

Based upon "Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant" by Davey Moore

It was almost the end of summer on Sodor, and at Vicarstown yards, Dennis was taking on fuel at the diesel pump.

"Thank goodness James will be back soon," he sighed. "He missed out on a lot."

"Indeed," agreed Rosie, going to arrange more trucks. "Thomas and Toby will have quite a lot to fill him in on– ugh!" She shuddered as she rolled over a puddle. Water and mud splashed onto her paintwork and on some of the tankers next to her. "Okay, note to self – slow down when I go over that bit of track– huh?!"

"Rosie?" asked Dennis. "What's happened over there?"

"Is it just me, or does that tanker look like it was just painted on?"

"Don't be silly, Rosie," said Dennis. "Victor wouldn't let that slip through the– oh my!" He gasped in shock, now noticing black paint dripping down off one of the tankers. Underneath it was white paint, and the word "MILK" written in blue letters.

"Who would shunt milk tankers amongst oil tankers?" asked Rosie.

"Don't worry too much, Rosie," soothed Dennis. "It's right at the back. Maybe they haven't touched…" He winced and groaned. "Okay… yeah, they did load milk in here. Ugh… I don't feel too good."

The gray diesel slowly rolled forwards, but he didn't get very far before his engine began making sputtering noises, and then, black smoke began billowing out of his vents.

"Dennis!" cried Rosie; Dennis now looked to be an unhealthy shade of green. "Hang on, I'll get you to Vicarstown Works, okay?"

"Ugh…" groaned Dennis. "Thanks, Rosie…"

Sir Topham Hatt was not very happy when he got the call about Dennis' breakdown.

"Milk?! In the fuel pump?" he exclaimed. "Right; make sure that no diesels go anywhere near that fuel pump until it's been thoroughly cleaned out. In the meantime, I'll send for another engine to help Rosie in the yards. Good day."

Sir Topham Hatt sighed as he hung up the phone. "Dear, oh dear… first there's that tree that Gordon and Rebecca almost run into, then there's that false green signal causing Thomas to derail, and now Dennis is out of commission due to tainted fuel… This can't be a coincidence, surely?"

"I doubt it is, Uncle Charles," said Annabelle. "We have to stay vigilant for our engines. I just hope it isn't Addison, out for revenge against us…" The mention of her former friend's name brought a pained look on Annabelle's face. Sir Topham Hatt pulled his niece in for a hug.

"We'll pull through, dear," he said quietly. "At least she's behind bars now, according to your mother."

"Yeah…" sighed Annabelle. "All the same though," she added, straightening up, "someone's going to need to help Rosie at Vicarstown. Amanda's hard pressed doing James' work for the moment."

"Hmm…" Sir Topham Hatt nodded thoughtfully. "I know just who to send in to help…"

Back at Vicarstown, Rosie had been left to handle the shunting duties by herself. Being only just one engine, she soon found herself getting rather flustered.

"Okay, there you are, Henry!" she said quickly. "Hold on there, Bear. Your train will be ready shortly."

"Rosie," called Bear, "I can help get my train–"

"No, Bear; it's my job to get the trains for you," she insisted.

"It's our job to get trains for the others," came a voice. Rosie looked up and heard a whistle, and then saw Nia puffing up on another platform.

"Nia?! What're you doing down here?"

"I've come to lend you a wheel while Dennis is out of action," explained Nia. "After all, two engines are better than one."

"We're glad you've come to help us out, Nia," smiled Henry. Nia giggled and blushed upon hearing this, and quickly puffed away to do some shunting.

"What was that all about?" asked Bear. Rosie simply smiled and said nothing, leaving the Hymek perplexed.

Over the next few days, Rosie and Nia were kept busy shunting and arranging trains for the other engines. Because they were usually on opposite sides of the island, the two tank engines didn't spend too much time together, apart from Nia's temporary stay at Vicarstown on her first Christmas. So, the two took this opportunity to get to know each other more.

"…Southampton harbor was extremely busy," Rosie was saying. "My siblings, and Thomas' siblings, had to work day and night shunting trains, mostly for ships and bigger engines to take on long journeys."

"Your time before Sodor must have sounded so exciting!"

"Yeah, well… So how about you?"

"Oh…" Nia looked wistfully out to the Rolling Bridge, and the ocean. "Well, I used to have a very kind manager, and lots of friends. Asha, Kwaku, Kobe… However…" She looked sadly at her buffers. "Our manager passed away from cancer, and after that cruel manager took over, he scrapped Asha and a few others."

"Oh…" gasped Rosie. "Nia, I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright," said Nia. "I've learned that we can't change the past. But Thomas came in and saved me from myself."

"I guess it was lucky Thomas didn't go to Canada last year," Rosie chuckled. "You're a great addition to the team, Nia."

"Thanks, Rosie."

"And you know something else, Nia?" asked Rosie. "I don't think any of us lived in the same conditions you did. Working in such an open area most of the time; no buildings or cranes towering over you. No congestion with oncoming trains. You must've been so lucky, Nia."

"If being in an open area means being free," said Nia, "then the birds are the real lucky ones. They watch the world unfold in ways even the 'more free' person or engine cannot."

"Oh, that's very true, Nia! I wish I thought of that!"

Both tank engines sighed wistfully before cracking up with laughter.

"I guess what they say is true," began Nia.

"The grass is always greener," finished Rosie. At that moment, the yard manager showed up with an important job.

"An elephant is being delivered for the Animal Park at Wellsworth," she explained. "One of you needs to collect her."

"Could I take her?" asked Nia. "I'm rather gifted when it comes to dealing with animals."

"I don't see why not," said the yard manager, nodding and looking at her clipboard. "But be careful with her; she might not be used to engines."

"I'll be careful, ma'am." With that, Nia puffed away.

Nia had to pick up the elephant at Barrow-in-Furness, but when she arrived, she saw the elephant's handlers having trouble.

"Come on, you!" one called, trying to get the elephant to turn to her designated container truck. "Can't you at least climb on board?"

"I swear, we'd have an easier time getting a chimpanzee to use a typewriter!" remarked another.

"I don't know about chimpanzees and typewriters," said Nia, "but back in Africa, when elephants would act out of line and try ambushing engines, we'd sing and calm them down."

"Well, we don't have any other ideas right now," said a third handler, "but I suppose it's worth trying."

So Nia rolled as close as she could to the elephant without disturbing it. "Don't worry," she said quietly. "I promise I won't hurt you. I want to help you…

"Get on board,

Take your time.

Get on board,

It will be fine.

We're in no hurry,

So don't you worry.

Get on board."

But despite Nia's little song, the elephant trumpeted loudly and backed away.

"Oh dear," groaned Nia, disappointed. "That singing worked before…"

"I guess not all elephants think the same," sighed the first handler, scratching his head. "So now what do we do?"

"Perhaps she's cranky because she's not had something to eat," suggested Nia's driver. "Have you tried feeding her?"

"I knew we must've forgotten something!" remarked the third handler. "Elephants love to eat plenty of plant material."

"Looks like we'll have to do a little grocery shopping just to get this elephant on board," said Nia's driver.

Within minutes, Nia's driver and the elephant handlers had bought a few bushels of apples, and then one of the handlers began setting up a trail leading into the wagon.

"Hopefully this ought to work," said Nia's driver. She, Nia, the fireman and handlers watched as the elephant picked up the apples and put them in her mouth, one by one.

"It's working!" whispered Nia. "There's a good girl."

But it didn't last long before the elephant realized where the apple trail was leading, and trumpeted once more, refusing to go any further.

"Oh, bother!" groaned Nia. "And it was such a good start too…"

"At this rate, it looks like you might have to take the elephant to Wellsworth by foot," said the driver, "and that could take hours, if not days!"

"Elephants like water, driver," said Nia. "What if we asked the Search and Rescue Center to see if they could let Belle or Flynn help out?"

"It's a nice idea, Nia," said her driver, "but what if a fire were to take place while this is happening? They need all the water they can get."

"Oh… right." Nia sighed. "I'm all out of ideas."

"At least you tried, Nia," said the second helper. "Some elephants are just downright stubborn. Perhaps she's not used to everything around her."

Upon hearing that, Nia suddenly had another idea.

"What if we brought another elephant to help her feel comfortable?" she suggested. "Elephants are herd animals; especially the females and the young males."

"What a clever engine you are, Nia," complimented her driver. "I'll make a call at Vicarstown and ask if Rosie can fetch one."

Back at Vicarstown, Rosie was filling up on coal when her driver came up.

"There's trouble on the mainland, ol' girl," she said. "That elephant's being uncooperative, so we're going to bring another one from the Animal Park to try and soothe her."

"Oh dear," sighed Rosie as she set off. "I sure hope that elephant didn't give Nia too much grief…"

At the Animal Park, they'd been informed about what was happening, so Philip was sent to bring in a wagon for one of their elephants to travel in.

"I've never seen an elephant up close before," the diesel boxcab remarked as the elephant was loaded onto the wagon. "Who knows if I'll ever see another one?"

Just then, Rosie pulled up alongside the platform.

"Fate works in mysterious ways, Philip," she said. "Maybe if you're lucky to be around later, you might see another elephant."

"Ooooooh, really?!" Philp asked excitedly.

"If this other one can be more agreeable," promised Rosie. The elephant came up to Rosie and Philip with a happy trumpet and waved her trunk.

"Aww, she's so sweet," cooed Philip.

"Come on," called Rosie. "There's a new friend waiting for you." Once the elephant was secured in her wagon, and everything was ready, Rosie set off once more for Barrow.

Rosie raced to the other end of the line as quickly and carefully as she could. "Elephant coming through!" she called as she passed by other engines. "Biggest animal on land, watch out!"

"An elephant?" asked Paxton in surprise. "Has Bridget taken control of the railway?"

"No, Pax," Rosie replied. "There's an emergency at Barrow."

"But what's an emergency got to do with elephants?" wondered Paxton.

"Don't worry about that now, Paxton," called his driver. "We're going to be late for the Blue Mountain Quarry."

"Oh my!" gasped Paxton. "I almost forgot!" With a honk from his horn, he sped off as fast as he could. Unfortunately, the elephant had gotten startled after drinking some water and sent it spraying everywhere… all over the green diesel. "Oh! I wasn't expecting a washdown before we got to the quarry!"

"Sorry, Paxton!" cried Rosie.

"It's okay…" Paxton admitted. "It's just water."

It was a long way back to Barrow, but at last, Rosie and the other elephant made it to the station without any problems. Nia had moved the other wagon out of the way so that the troublesome elephant could join the other in Rosie's wagon.

"Here… we are… Nia…" panted Rosie. "I found… another… elephant…"

"That reminds me of a song that my driver's son learned," giggled Nia. "One gray elephant balancing, step by step on a piece of string. She thought it was such a wonderful stunt that she called for another elephant."

"I don't know about 'balancing on a piece of string,'" chuckled Rosie, once she'd regained her breath, "but I hope this works."

Upon seeing the other elephant in the wagon, the troublesome elephant trumpeted, and the other elephant trumpeted back in response, inviting the troublesome elephant aboard. This time, without any hesitation, the troublesome elephant boarded the wagon, and once she was on board, the handlers closed the gate to the wagon. Both elephants trumpeted happily.

"Well done, both of you," smiled Sir Topham Hatt. "The elephant is sure to have a great life at the animal park."

"Just doing our part, sir," said Nia. "Speaking of which, is Dennis back to work yet? Or at least, is James back from India yet? Thomas, Percy, Toby, Mavis and Scarlett are hard pressed as it is."

"James should be back by tomorrow, and Dennis has just had his engine cleaned out," explained Sir Topham Hatt. "In fact, he was put to work just as soon as Rosie had left to pick up the other elephant!"

"Uh oh…" gasped Rosie. "I'd better get back to Vicarstown fast. And I was just there!" She scampered away after whistling goodbye to Nia.

"If my driver had a pound sterling for every time we had trouble involving an elephant on Sodor," said Nia, "she'd have two pound sterlings. …which isn't a lot, but it's strange that it happened twice."

"Dennis, where's mah load o' apples?" inquired Murdoch.

"I'm getting it, I'm getting it!" he cried. "Hold your horses!" But he didn't look where he was going.

"Dennis!" panted a familiar voice. "Watch out for the–"

CRASH!

"Fruit vans…" sighed Rosie. "Driver, I think we'd better call the Search and Rescue Center to get Rocky."

"Great…" muttered Murdoch. "Noo this delivery wull be really late!"

"Sorry, Murdoch…" Dennis said quietly.

Author's Comments

Here's an adaptation of the sixth and final episode that was originally intended for Series 21! We don't actually know who would've been the lead character in Nia's place in Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant, a pretty solid episode overall, but part of me believes Rosie could've taken the lead role, given that she works at Vicarstown, and most of the episode takes place there. Seriously, it almost feels tailor made for her! Therefore, I ended up making both Nia and Rosie the lead characters, even showcasing a bit of banter between them, which was inspired a scene from Girls' Night Out from The New Batman Adventures in which Batgirl and Supergirl have a similar conversation. It really helps to expand Nia's circle of friends beyond Tidmouth and the Ffarquhar branch line.

Next time, we venture into Henry's Forest with the Rangers of the Rails!