NOT SO HASTY PUDDINGS

Based upon the episode by Robyn Charteris

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Snow had come once more to the Island of Sodor, which meant that Christmas was on the horizon. At the Little Western sheds, the engines shivered as the icy wind hit them.

"Another cold Christmas coming up," shivered Oliver. "Hopefully we won't be freezing our axles off when the party rolls around."

"The island does look pretty though, Mr. Oliver," commented Toad.

"And besides," said Duck, "it will be Arthur and Murdoch's first Christmas with us. We have to make it worthwhile."

"That may be so, cous," said Oliver, "but I swear, snow brings nothing but trouble."

"It's a blessing in disguise," remarked Douglas. "If nae fur Donal' 'n' Ah proving oor worth that first winter we wur here…"

"Oh!" gasped Oliver. "I didn't mean any offense to you two. What you do each year to clear the tracks is really useful; don't you ever forget that."

The twins smiled. "Thank ye, Oliver," said Donald; he chuckled. "Though, ye'd also best keep yer snowplough handy."

Oliver smirked. "I'm not Thomas, alright? I won't leave my snowplough laying around."

While Oliver did stick to his word about wearing his snowplough, he wasn't the only engine to have problems when it came to dealing with snow…

"I know red looks so nice against the snow," James was saying, "but does it have to be so thick?!"

"That's just how it is, James," sighed Arthur. "We all have to do our part to help out in this weather."

"That's… true," conceded James. "How have you been settling into the branch line?"

"Quite well, actually," smiled Arthur. "And Beresford has been getting better… even though he doesn't really like the cold."

"Tell me about it," huffed James. "Standing out there in all sorts of weather 24/7 can drive anyone mad. Just ask Cranky."

The two engines chuckled at that. "Say," said Arthur, "Murdoch and I aren't the only two newcomers around here. Isn't it Elizabeth's first Christmas on Sodor too?"

"Er… not quite," James elaborated. "Elizabeth's been on Sodor long before even Edward came here. But it is her first Christmas after being rediscovered."

"Ah, sort of like Duke's situation; I understand," said Arthur. "Hopefully she's having an easier time in the snow."

"Ugh!" groaned the steam lorry. "The roads needn't get frost covering every inch of the surface!"

Elizabeth was delivering salt to help defrost the platforms at Arlesburgh station, and not a moment too soon.

"Okay… watch your step, Lily," she cautioned herself. "Don't hurt yourself… whoops!" She slipped and fell over. "I'm okay!"

"Lily!" cried Oliver; he and Toad bustled in with some trucks. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Don't stress, Oliver," Lily called. "I'm okay…" She winced as she clutched her ankle. "Or… maybe not…"

"Driver, call an ambulance," Oliver called. "And mind your step!"

"Don't worry, Miss Lily; help will be here soon," assured Toad. Oliver's fireman also came to help Lily rest on the nearest platform bench.

"Thanks, Joe," she said gratefully.

Just then, a honk of a horn sounded out, and Elizabeth panted in. "Oh no! What's happened here?!"

"Another reason which proves my point about snow being troublesome," muttered Oliver; he quickly explained the situation.

"Well, it's a good thing I've brought this salt," said Elizabeth. "You're lucky you don't have to deal with the roads. They're very slippery!"

"The rails are just as bad," huffed Oliver. "Don't you know how much snow piles up on the tracks?"

"You have Donald and Douglas to help you," she insisted. "We don't have that luxury to make it a catwalk."

"Don't you take Donald and Douglas' work for granted!" gasped Oliver. "My boyfriend and brother-in-law run a tight operation."

"And so do you, if you want the railway to be reliable."

"I am reliable," huffed Oliver. "I can get these trucks to their destination efficiently in this weather; you'll see!"

As Elizabeth roared away and an ambulance came to collect Lily, Toad grimaced to himself. "Not again, Mr. Oliver…"

Later, Oliver and Toad were heading down the line toward Knapford to deliver the Christmas decorations.

"That Elizabeth is so rude!" scoffed Oliver. "Without Donald and Douglas, the lines in the winter would be a lot tougher to manage."

"I know, Mr. Oliver," soothed Toad. "Mr. Donald and Mr. Douglas never slack in their work, that's for sure. But Miss Elizabeth has been locked up in her shed for a long time, and hasn't seen them in action before."

"I… I guess you do have a point," said Oliver.

"And consider this, Mr. Oliver," added Toad. "Maybe Miss Elizabeth was just upset that she and the road vehicles don't have a friend who is either as willing or as experienced as Mr. Donald and Mr. Douglas to help plow the snow."

"What about Terence?" Oliver pointed out. "His caterpillar tracks help him to grip the roads better, and he helped Thomas, Percy and Harold rescue the villagers of Ulfstead."

"Well, that may be true, Mr. Oliver," said Toad, "but I don't think Miss Elizabeth has met him yet. And even then, Mr. Terence can't get around as quickly as you or even other road vehicles can."

Oliver was quiet, considering the brake van's words. "That's also a fair point, Toad," he said at last. "And Terence does have his duties at Finney's farm on the Ffarquhar branch line; far removed from any roads Elizabeth is travelling on at the moment."

Toad smiled. "I'm sure she'll come around soon enough, Mr. Oliver."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth had driven over to Haultraugh, when Sir Topham Hatt arrived. "Ah, Elizabeth," he greeted warmly. "It's so good to see you this Christmas."

"It's wonderful to be back, Bertram," she giggled. "I've really missed you."

"It's been too long," he agreed. "I remember when Charles and Barbara used to decorate you with baubles and tinsel."

Elizabeth scoffed. "Now that's something I don't miss! I'm a Sentinel lorry, not a Christmas tree!"

"Don't worry, they are responsible adults now," Sir Topham Hatt chuckled. "And their children – Stephen, Bridget and Annabelle – are also grown up."

"Will they be there at the Christmas party, Bertram?" asked Elizabeth.

"Of course they will," he nodded. "Now, the reason I've come to see you is because Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory is snowed in. There's some puddings that are meant to be shipped out at Brendam docks. If they wait too long, they won't get to people's houses for dessert."

"Oh no!" cried Elizabeth. "I'll get them down there as soon as I can." She drove off as carefully as she could. As she was leaving, Oliver was pulling into the station when he heard something on the radio.

"…reports are saying that a tumultuous snowstorm is heading towards the island. The heaviest parts of it are heading toward the western-most branch lines, such as the Little Western and Ffarquhar branches."

"By the Great Railway, that can't be good!" gasped Oliver. "Toad, we'd better warn everyone to bunker down until it passes."

"Quite right, Mr. Oliver," he agreed. "Mr. Duck should be at Knapford already, so we can warn him there."

"Oliver, Toad!" called Sir Topham Hatt. "You have to warn Elizabeth as well! I just sent her to Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory."

"Oh, ashes, that's on the Ffarquhar branch!" gasped Oliver. "We'll ask around if anyone's seen her, Sir."

Speaking of whom, Elizabeth was driving her way up to Maithwaite. "Okay… watch where your wheels turn," she said to herself. "It's not that bad out here if you go slowly."

Soon, the steam lorry came across a heavily snowed-in building. "That must be it, driver!" she called. "I can see the sign on the wall!"

"Ah, there you are Elizabeth," sighed Mr. Jolly in relief. "Sir Topham Hatt said you'd be coming."

"Of course, Mr. Jolly," she replied. "I can get those puddings to the docks for you. Nothing will go wrong, you'll see."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," smiled Mr. Jolly, and he and other workers started loading her up.

Oliver made it to Knapford, and he saw not only Duck and Old Slow Coach, but Henry, the red coaches, Gordon, Toby and Henrietta as well.

"There's a big snowstorm coming," he panted. "It'll be heaviest on the western side of the island."

"Oh no!" cried Henry. "Did it say anything about whiteout conditions?"

"I didn't stick around long enough to hear that," Oliver admitted. "But we'd all better watch ourselves. We may need to find shelter as soon as possible."

"We'd better warn everyone as soon as we can," said Duck. "Did you see Algy at all on the way up?"

"He was passing by on the road and Toad and I explained the situation," said Oliver. "You lot didn't see Elizabeth, did you?"

"No," said Gordon. "Why?"

"She was heading to Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory," Toad explained. "And then to Brendam docks."

"That isn't good!" gasped Old Slow Coach. "If Elizabeth's driving all the way down to Brendam, she could get in trouble with the weather!"

"Henrietta and I will see if we can track her down before she reaches the Brendam branch," said Toby.

"Thanks, Toby," said Oliver.

When his guard blew the whistle, Toby trundled off, hoping he wouldn't be too late.

Out on the roads, Elizabeth was going as carefully as she could. "Bertram's relying on me, I mustn't be late," she hummed. But she didn't account for a steep hill.

"Oh, bother my axles!" she groaned. "I'm not built for this!"

Going uphill may have been tricky for Elizabeth, but going downhill was about to be much worse.

"Ohhhh, help!" she wailed as she slipped on the roads. "Brakes, driver! Brakes!"

Her driver tried to put on the brakes, but the momentum of going downhill on a slippery road didn't help matters. Elizabeth careened through a nearby fence and slid downwards… all the way into a snowdrift.

"Ouch!" she cried. "Ugh… my front would be damaged now!"

The driver managed to scramble out of her cabin and trudged through the snow to call for help.

Despite the worsening weather, Toby and Henrietta kept an eye out for Elizabeth.

"A flash of red shouldn't be hard to miss in the snow," Toby remarked. "Heh, I know James would never let us forget that."

Henrietta chuckled. "No indeed, Toby." She quickly became serious again when remembering the situation. "Elizabeth? Where are you?!"

Through the snow, Toby suddenly saw a glint of red waving back and forth.

"I think we might have found her!" he called as he began to slow down. Toby then rang his bell to get the driver's attention.

"Thank goodness you've come!" said Elizabeth's driver. "Butch should be along soon to help her out of the snow, but we'll need another way to deliver these puddings!"

"I think Thomas is on his way back down the line," Toby said. "He can take them."

Sure enough, Thomas arrived to pick up the Christmas puddings, while Butch had arrived to take Elizabeth to be checked for repairs.

"I wish the roads were as efficient as the railway in this weather," she grunted. "Then I wouldn't have crashed in the first place!"

The blue tank engine was taken aback. "Elizabeth…" he trailed. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I hear stories about Donald and Douglas' work in the snow," she sighed. "They do such an amazing job with keeping trains running efficiently."

"Well… that is true," Thomas admitted. "But even with such efficiency, even the best of us can get delayed by the snow. Snowstorms are sudden things we can't control."

"Indeed," agreed Butch. "Though Elizabeth is right. We do need to clear the roads of the ice in this weather."

"Maybe you could use one of those snow machines like Gordon did a few years ago," Thomas joked. Butch chuckled, but Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"I don't think that'll work too well," remarked Butch. "That being said, I think it's possible to hire a snow sweeper to make our work easier."

Thomas had managed to deliver the Christmas puddings without further problem. "Good job, matey," called Salty. "Ye got here just in time!"

"Thanks, Salty," smiled Thomas. "It wasn't Elizabeth's fault she got delayed; she slipped into a snowdrift." He shuddered. "I know how that feels."

By the time the party had taken place, the weather had calmed down, and Elizabeth was back on her wheels again with little damage done. All the engines and the road vehicles had gathered around for the celebration. Among the last to arrive were Oliver and Toad.

"You're juist in time," smiled Douglas. "Carols wull be starting soon."

Oliver gave a warm smile at Douglas before hearing Elizabeth roll up alongside. "Elizabeth!" he called. "Glad to see you're back on your wheels."

"I agree," she smiled. "And… I'm sorry I was so rude about the railway's efficiency. You should be proud of what Donald and Douglas do to keep things going in winter."

"That I am," chuckled Oliver, "and not just me."

"Oh, by the way, Miss Elizabeth," added Toad, "how are the roads doing in this weather?"

"Better now," she remarked. "Take a look over there."

Oliver and the other engines all glanced up to see the snow sweeper clearing the roads from snowdrifts, and salt was sprinkled on the road to help melt the ice. Unfortunately, some unsuspecting trucks were chuckling in the yard, thinking of which engine to prank next.

"Er… trucks?" called Arthur. "You may want to watch out for–"

SPLAT! A large clump of snow fell all over them.

"Hey!" cried one of the trucks. "Who dumped that snow on us?!"

"Just a snow sweeper," Percy said innocently. "You haven't heard of them before?"

"Okay, new plan," said Old Bennett. "I say we bump that snow sweeper off the rails on our next train."

"One problem," scoffed Boxy. "The snow sweeper isn't an engine! How can we bump it off the track?!"

"We can't even couple to the back of it," grunted Suncole.

The engines and road vehicles all laughed. "Well, it looks like we have a new ally," remarked Duck. "That is a great Christmas present." And everyone had to agree.

THE END

Author's Comments

In an ideal world, this would've been published before Christmas, but then, I'm not the first content creator to post a holiday-themed story after the season's passed, and I probably won't be the last either. Not So Hasty Puddings, again, has been greatly expanded upon from the official episode, even giving roles to Duck, Oliver, Toad and Toby. Initially, Percy was to take Thomas' place in bringing the puddings to Brendam, but it was switched to Thomas, given his own experiences with being stuck in snowdrifts. The snow sweeper at the end, I'd imagine is owned by the Sodor Island Council, although I'm not quite sure what their basis and gender identity might be at this point.

Upcoming rewrites:

- Jack Frost (Jack Frost/Scaredy Engines)

- Toby, Percy and the Windmill (Toby's Windmill)

- Buster 1, Moles 0

- Bulgy Rides Again - retooled

- Another Fine Mess