Little Green Lie: ThomasNATION Fanstory
July 03, 2020
It was yet another busy day on Sodor, especially down at the Blue Mountain Quarry. Fresh shipments of slate were going in and out of the quarry, and the little narrow gauge engines were working hard to ensure everything was in fine order; especially Luke, the little green engine. He was tasked with filling up Owen for the day.
āThatās the last of it, Owen!ā he chirped happily, as he loaded a tipper truck full of slate onto the platform.
āThanks, Luke!ā, said Owen with a smile, before lowering the platform. āGoinā down!ā
Everything was right with the world, untilā¦
āLuke?ā called out a voice. Luke peeked down to see who it was. It was Peter Sam, who was with Duncan near the turntable. āDown here!ā
āHmm, I wonder whatās upā, said Luke, and he made his way down to the turntable. āWhatās the matter, Peter Sam?ā
āIāve come with a message from Mr. Percivalā, exclaimed Duncan. āHe says youāre to take a shipment of slate to Ulfstead Castle. The earl needs it to repair a broken platform.ā
Luke beamed. āNo need to worry, Duncan!ā He started puffing away, but then stopped as he came to a realisation. āWait. I thought Skarloey was going to take that load.ā
āHe was,ā Duncan explained, ābut heās working at the slate mines all day with Sir Handel, so heās unavailable.ā
āOh. Well, if thatās the case, Iām on it!ā, he said as he chugged away. Duncan stopped him.
āWait, Luke! Mr. Percival also wanted me to remind you that the track at Crovanās Gate that leads to Ulfstead Castle is down for repairsā, he grumbled, āso youāll have to take the long way round near Glennock!ā
This disappointed Luke. He loved doing his deliveries as quick as possible, so that would leave more time for him to help out at the quarry. Then, he got an idea.
āI know!ā Luke exclaimed. āIāll just take a shortcut!ā
āA shortcut?!ā Duncan shouted. āWhat shortcuts are there around here?ā
āThereās plenty around here.ā Luke explained as he left to collect his train.
Luke had spent most of his time on Sodor hiding away in the quarryās tunnels, so he knew a few secrets about the place, but his favorite was the multitude of different shortcuts, including one that led right to the castle. Luke collected his cargo and went through his shortcut, which was an old junction near Owen. Puffing through his shortcut, he took his time to admire the scenery; all the lush, green trees and a beautiful sparkling river.
āWow! I always forget how beautiful this part of Sodor is!ā he marvelled to himself before coming up at a bridge.
The bridge looked old, rusty, maybe a little broken.
āFizzling fireboxes, this bridge has certainly seen better daysā¦ā he muttered. He knew it may be too dangerous to cross, but at the same time, he didnāt want to cause delay. So slowly, but surely, he eased himself onto the bridge.
The bridge creaked and croaked beneath him. The weight of Lukeās slate wagons made it unstable, but by the time he was halfway across the bridgeā¦
CRACK! It collapsed beneath Luke! His slate wagons slipped down the tilted track, coming very close to falling into the river below.
āOh no!ā he yelled out. He tried his best to pull the wagons back onto the rails with all his might, untilā¦
SNAP! The coupling seperating two wagons snapped off, sending the rest of his cargo falling into the river, leaving two trucks remaining. Luke was absolutely devestated!
āNo! My slate!ā he cried. āWhat am I going to tell Sir Robert?ā
As Luke pulled into Ulfstead Castle, he still felt guilty about losing his trucks.
āOoh! Hello, Luke!ā, Millie called out as he passed. But Luke didnāt notice, as he was too preoccupied with trying to explain his situation to the earl, who was talking with Mr. Percival and Ruth, the inventor.
āAh, Luke! Youāre a bit early, arenāt you?ā called out the earl. āRuth, help me unload these trucks.ā
But Ruth noticed something a bit off about Lukeās load. āUh, Sir Robert?ā she noted. āIf you donāt mind my saying, this shipment is a little light.ā
āOh!ā exclaimed the earl.
āLuke, whatās going on?ā asked Mr. Percival, with suspicions.
Luke had to think fast. He was too scared to explain his situation, untilā¦
āUhā¦I accidentally left it!ā he cried out. āBack at the quarry! Yes, uh, if you want, Iāll go collect it.ā
āOh, well, alright.ā said the earl, as he uncoupled Luke from his truck. āJust be back with the remaining cars as soon as possible, okay?ā
āSure thing, sir...ā Luke said, but as he left, he couldnāt believe what he did. He had actually lied to Mr. Percivalās face! āWhat have I done?ā.
Mr. Percival took notice of Lukeās strange behavior. āExcuse me, Sir Robert,ā he said, ābut was Luke just acting strange to you?ā
āYes,ā replied the earl. āHeās normally so chipper.ā
Mr. Percival took notice of Lukeās strange behavior. āExcuse me, Sir Robert,ā he said, ābut was Luke just acting strange to you?ā
āYes,ā replied the earl. āHeās normally so chipper.ā
Ruth inspected the two trucks, and noticed something strange. āUh, guys? Is it just me or is the coupling broken?ā.
Back at the quarry, Luke had to get some slate trucks and fast. He sped straight to Owen.
āOwen!ā he cried out. āI need a fresh shipment of slate immediately!ā
āIām sorry, Luke, but Rheneas just took the last load.ā Owen said, with a frown. āItāll take hours before we get a fresh loadā.
Luke started to panic. āOh, come on! Isnāt there any other loads?ā
Suddenly, Rusty came up alongside Luke. āLuke? Is everything alright?ā
āUhā¦yeah!ā Luke lied again in a panic. āIām okay, all fine and dandy, all shipshape and seaworthyā¦Iām perfectly alright, all of myā¦ā
Then, Peter Sam approached him. āLuke? You donāt sound okay. You always go off into a ramble when youāre nervous.ā
āUh, yeah! I just need a shipment ofā¦ā Luke stopped. He had an idea. āI got it!ā
Rusty was puzzled. āGot what?ā
āI know where I can get fresh slate!ā Luke exclaimed, as he rushed off to the slate mines.
As Luke rolled into the slate mines, he was greeted by Skarloey and Sir Handel.
āHello, Luke! Are you alright?ā Sir Handel asked, who noticed that Luke was nervous.
āUhā¦look, promise not to tell anyone?ā Luke asked.
āOh, Lukeā¦ā Skarloey sighed. āWhat did you do?ā
āIā¦accidentally lost my load of slate that was meant for Ulfstead Castle, and Iā¦ā Luke paused. āWell, let's just say hypothetically that I may have lied to Mr. Percivalās face about it...ā
āWhat?ā Sir Handel gasped.
āLuke, you should know better than to tell a lie to Mr. Percival.ā Skarloey explained.
āI know, but I really need some slate!ā Luke said in a hurry.
āOh! Why didnāt you say so?ā Sir Handel said happily. āThereās some trucks over there.ā
āThank you, thank you, thank you!ā Luke exclaimed happily.
Suddenly, Mr. Percival pulled up, scaring Luke.
āSir! Uh, what are you doing here?!ā he called out.
āI came to check on how Skarloey and Sir Handel were doing, Luke,ā he explained, ābut the real question is what are you doing here? I thought you said you left your trucks at the quarry.ā
āUh, Iā¦just remembered, uhā¦ā Luke lied again. āthat I actually left them here! Ha ha! Silly me! Okay, donāt mind me!ā
Mr. Percival looked skeptically at Luke. āWell, if you say soā¦ā he said with suspicions. āNow, I need to investigate a broken bridge. You stay out of trouble, Luke.ā
āOkay.ā
As Mr. Percival left, Skarloey looked at Luke, with a stern face.
āLuke!ā he barked. āI know that youāre nervous, but you need to stop with this lying!ā
āIām sorry, Skarloey!ā Luke cried out, as he raced out of the slate mines. āI donāt know whatās wrong with me today!ā
āThat engine.ā said Sir Handel. āI never have any clue what goes through his brain.ā
Luke pulled into Crovanās Gate station. He still felt guilty about what he did. Thomas and Sonny were there, collecting passengers.
āOh! Hi, Luke!ā, Thomas called out. āWhatās wrong? You look a little down.ā
āI lied to Mr. Percival earlier.ā Luke explained.
āThatās all?ā Sonny inquired. āSo you told a little fib. Happens to all of us!ā
āBut thatās not the problem!ā Luke cried out. āMy train dropped down a river, and I told Mr. Percival that I left it at the quarry, but Rheneas took the last load, andā¦ā
āWhoa, Luke, calm down.ā Thomas said. āThis sounds rather serious, but I would sound more concerned about your accident than telling a lie.ā
āYou donāt understand, Thomas!ā Luke yelled in a panic. āIf Mr. Percival finds out, he might send me away in disgrace!ā
āDonāt be silly, Luke!ā Thomas reassured his little friend. āIāve lied to Sir Topham Hatt about my accidents a few times, and whenever he found out, he only gave me a stern telling off!ā
āReally?ā
āYes!ā
Luke was still unsure, but Thomas still tried to reassure him. āLuke, if you really want this problem to clear up, then all you need to do is confess.ā
āAre you sure, Thomas?ā Luke asked.
āOf course Iām sure.ā Thomas responded.
āWell, itās the only option left.ā Luke said, growing confident again. āThanks, lads.ā
āNo worries, mate.ā Sonny spouted. āAnd if that fails, then just team up with two criminals who will try and steal a ton of inventions and threaten to kill you if things donāt go their way!ā
āSonny!ā Thomas gasped.
āSorry,ā said Sonny. āI just forgot myself, is all.ā
Luke headed back to Ulfstead, destined to set things right. On his way, he saw Mr. Percival investigating the crash site. He sternly noticed Luke.
āLuke,ā he bellowed, āget over here.ā
Luke approached Mr. Percival, worried. āBefore you say anything, sir, thereās something I need to sayā¦ā
āSay no more, Luke,ā Mr. Percival interrupted. āYou said that your slate cars were back at the Blue Mountain Quarry. If thatās so, thenā¦ā
The narrow gauge breakdown crane pulled one of Lukeās cars out of the river. ā...what are these slate cars doing at the scene of the accident?ā
Luke knew there was no way around it. āSir, Iām ever so sorry. The truth is, I didnāt leave my cars.ā
āYou donāt sayā¦ā
āI tried taking a shortcut, but the bridge collapsed, and all my cargo fell into the river. Iām so sorry I lied to you.ā Luke grew sad.
āYouāre in quite a lot of trouble for all this, Luke.ā Mr. Percival said, crossly. āYou shouldāve alerted someone on the Search and Rescue team.ā
Then, suddenly, Mr. Percival grew a smile. āBut, I do have to thank you for your honesty.ā
āItās alright, sir.ā Luke said. āAt least now, Iāll know never to tell another lie again.ā
Luke kept his promise to never lie again from that point on, as he knew that nothing good came out of hiding the truth.
āOi!ā Duncan yelled, noticing a derailed train of tipper trucks. āWho left this train here?ā
āOops, sorry, Duncan!ā Luke called out. āThat was me! Iāll clear it up in a jiffy!ā
Skarloey and Sir Handel pulled up alongside Duncan.
āWell, at least little Luke has learned something valuable.ā Skarloey commented.
āWhatās that?ā Sir Handel asked. āThat lying will only get you into more trouble and is never the answer?ā
āNo,ā Skarloey retorted. āItās to never cross an unsteady bridge with heavy stone!ā
The End.
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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