Charlie The Little Red Engine

Chuff, Chuff, Woo Woo, Clang Clang.   All day long Charlie the little red engine went round and round the track pulling his three little open carriages.   He stopped at the little station and while one lot of passengers got off, he filled up with more water so he could make the steam that made him go Chuff Chuff.  

The new passengers queued up at the ticket office to pay the fare.   They were given a blue ticket and then they were allowed to sit in the little carriages, which were only big enough for small children.   Charlie went round and round again pulling his little carriages and all the children waved to their Mums and Dads.    Today though, Charlie wasn’t feeling happy and a very large tear rolled down his red shiny face.

“I wish I could stop going in circles and do something else”

Some days Charlie got quite dizzy going round and round his little track and he was glad when he ran out of steam and stopped for the night

He spent his nights in a big shed with another engine called Ernie.   Night after night, Charlie moaned about going around in circles and never getting anywhere.   Ernie finally got fed up with all the moaning and complaining.

“Well Charlie” Ernie asked in a very fed up voice. “What would you like to do, if you didn’t spend your days going round in circles pulling your three little carriages?”

“I would like to see the world, go to lots of exciting places and do exciting things”

Ernie was a very wise old engine and he asked Charlie  “If you went to all these exciting places, what would happen to all your passengers - who would give them rides?  The children would be very sad, if they couldn’t go for a ride around the track and wave to their Mums and Dads”

Charlie thought about what Ernie had said all night long.   The next day he watched as all the children climbed into his carriages.   They all looked so happy.  The Mums and Dads stood by the tracks and waved as he went by.   “Thank you Charlie”  they called out, “Thank you for giving our children a nice ride”.

A great big smile spread all over Charlie’s shiny red face.

All day long instead of feeling sad, he tooted at everybody and he clanged his bell as he chuffed round and round with lots of happy children.   “Ernie was right”, he said to himself.  “I make the children happy and everyone loves me, so I think I will stay here and do what I do best”.

Charlie did stay on his little round tracks and to this day if you are very lucky and only small, Charlie will let you ride in his carriages and as he goes round and round, you will see he has a great big smile on his shiny face.