the tales of sodor's engine

Thomas' Bad day

The sun was shining brightly on the Island of Sodor, but Thomas the Tank Engine wasn't feeling the warmth. He was having an awful day and didn't feel very cheerful at all.

It seemed as if everything was going wrong for the poor tank engine. That morning, he had forgotten to prepare Gordon's express coaches, making the big engine terribly late. To make matters worse, in his rush to help Gordon, Thomas had neglected his other shunting duties, and soon the yards were backed up and the engines were cross!

Whistles blared as Thomas hurried to shunt the correct trucks in line.

"What's the point of having a tank engine if they won't do what they're told!" shouted Henry the Green Engine as he waited impatiently amongst the growing unrest in the yard. The whole situation was very stressful, but soon Thomas had the trucks in their proper places and the big engines left him alone.

Later that day, Thomas, still on edge after the yard fiasco, moved trucks about his branch-line, trying to make up for lost time. The trucks were being troublesome, and Thomas was having a hard time making them behave! In his frustration, he bumped the trucks hard. The sidings in the station yard were old and worn down, and weight of the trucks caused the buffers to break, and the trucks came to a grief on the roadway leading into the yard!

Incoming lorries were most annoyed at the road blockage!

"Oh dear!" Thomas cried! It took a long time to fetch the breakdown crane and clear the road again. The Fat Controller came to see what was the matter. He spoke severely to Thomas.

"If you cannot behave, Thomas, I shall have to send you to your shed. Your accident caused the lorry drivers great delays."

"I'm sorry, sir," said Thomas. He really didn't know what to say. After the Fat Controller left, Thomas sat quietly in the yard. He felt very sad and started to cry.

"I keep failing at everything," he said. "Maybe I should just give up."

"Hi, Thomas!" called a voice. It was Bertie the Bus!

"Are you here to tell me how silly I am, too?"

"No, of course not!" he said. "I can tell you've had a bad day."

"It's been the worst day, Bertie. I can't seem to do anything right."

"Don't worry, Thomas," Bertie smiled warmly. "Just because you didn't succeed today doesn't mean you won't succeed tomorrow."

"Do you think so?"

"I know so. Do you know how many wrong roads I took last week? I make mistakes all the time! One day, I took three wrong turns in a row!"

Thomas chuckled.

"I bet your passengers were confused!"

"They were, but you know what? I always made it to my destination with time to spare! So even though it seems like you're making many mistakes in a row, just remember that everything will always work out the way it was supposed to!"

"Thank you, Bertie. I hope tomorrow will be a better day."

"It will. Keep your chin up!"

Bertie gave a toot on his horn and pulled out of the yard. He was almost out of earshot when Thomas heard the screeching of brakes. Then, Bertie roared back through the yard in the opposite direction!

"Went the wrong way!" Bertie called as he drove past. "Goodbye!"

Thomas laughed heartily. He felt much better about everything that had happened and looked forward to starting tomorrow with a new, positive perspective!