Time Force: The Great Christmas Caper

Chapter 28: Po Takes a Tumble

Mr. Peabody's crime fighting agents are proud of how useful they are. It makes them feel important, but none of them feels more important than Po. "Watch out!" Pot wheeshed. "You'll get my clothing all sooty." "Pulling minecarts is a sooty job," teased Tigress. "But then you wouldn't know." "Of course not," Po huffed importantly. "Express Dragon Warriors don't pull minecarts. It wouldn't be dignified."

"Dingyfried?" puzzled Crane. "What's that?" "Dignified," corrected Po. "It means..." "It means that someone's too big for his muscles." teased Viper. "PAH!" said Po, and he walked away. That evening, fog covered the entirety of New York City. Everything slowed down and soon the docks were packed with waiting minecarts. This caused confusion and delay. Master Shifu came to the Kung Fu Warriors' dormitory. He was in such a hurry. "Tigress, Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis," he said. "You must go to the docks immediately." "Yes, sir," they whistled. Then, Shifu turned to the big fat panda.

"You, too, Po," he said. "I need a big warrior to take the minecarts where they won't be in the way." "Minecarts?!?!" huffed Po. He could not believe what he had heard. Po wasn't happy to be pulling minecarts. He waited impatiently while the Furious Five shunted the minecarts into place. "Hurry up, hurry up!" shouted Po, crossly. "Why the rush, Po?" asked Mantis. "If I must pull minecarts, then. I'll show you Tigress how a big, fat panda, or should I say 'THE big, fat panda' like me pulls minecarts." "Careful, Po," warned Tigress. "You don't want to get too big for your muscles." But Po ignored Tigress.

The next morning, Po raced along with his heavy load. "Now THIS is how you pull minecarts," he puffed. But Sherman had accidentally left the points switched to the Branch Line. Po ran and ran through the junction. "That's strange, I'm on the Branch Line." "Oh, no!" Sherman cried. "Big, fat pandas aren't supposed to go that way!" But it was too late. Po had already raced into the distance. The Branch Line was weak and rusty. There was a sign that warned all agents to go slow. But Po ignored the sign. "I'm an Express warrior; I don't go slow," he said. And he went even faster. The Branch Line couldn't take his weight, and the paths buckled. "OH, HELP!" Po cried as he slid off the tracks and into the field.

Po ran over a pile of hay, towards some tires making him lose his balance and into a bakery in New York City. No one was hurt, but poor Po felt very undignified. "What will Shifu say?" he groaned. He found out, soon enough. "Well, Po," said Shifu. "You wanted to show Tigress a thing or two, and you've certainly done that. You showed her how silly it is to ignore 'Go Slow' signs." "Sorry, Shifu," said Po, and he let out a sad wheesh of steam.

Po was soon repaired and back at the docks for work. He was very unhappy with himself. "Everyone makes mistakes," said Sherman. "Even you." "Tigress's sorry that she teased you," puffed Margo. "And I'm sorry I was too big for my muscles," replied Po. And all the warriors gave a jolly whistle, even Po.