It was to be the Storybook Festival on the Skarloey Railway. People from near and far would come to admire the engines and hear the stories that had been written about them. All the little engines had received new coats of paint for the occasion, and were quite excited.<\/p>\n
Rheneas gave Duncan a bump on accident as he was shunting his trucks into place.<\/p>\n
\u201cMind the paint!\u201d hissed Duncan. \u201cI\u2019ll no\u2019 have it scratched before the Festival. Not that I expect anyone will notice if it is,\u201d he huffed. \u201cEvery year they come to see the Little Old Engines, not poor Duncan, no sir. All the work I do, and none of the credit\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n
Skarloey was sitting at the other platform watching them. He laughed. \u201cNow, now. I don\u2019t think The Thin Controller would be very happy if his favourite engine didn\u2019t look his best,\u201d he said, and he winked at Rheneas, like this.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuit yer foolin\u2019,\u201d spluttered Duncan. \u201cThere\u2019s no call for cruel jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo need to be cross, Duncan,\u201d said Rheneas cheerfully as he rolled up alongside. \u201cThat\u2019s unbecoming behaviour for The Thin Controller\u2019s favourite engine.\u201d He and Skarloey laughed and pulled away, leaving Duncan red-faced at the station.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Duncan was in quite a state as he chuffed along the line to the Quarry.<\/p>\n
\u201cFavourite, indeed! Favourite, indeed!\u201d he grumbled as he trundled along. At the next station, he found Sir Handel and Peter Sam chatting about the Festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho do you think is The Thin Controller\u2019s favourite engine?\u201d said Duncan, butting in.<\/p>\n
Sir Handel and Peter Sam looked at him, puzzled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, all us engines are important to the Railway,\u201d hedged Peter Sam. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much that he thinks one of us is better than the others\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2013but it\u2019s you, isn\u2019t it, Duncan?\u201d finished Sir Handel, raising an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can tha\u2019 be?\u201d said Duncan crossly. \u201cHe\u2019s always scoldin’ me. Givin’ me the heaviest trains. That\u2019s no way to treat an engine!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe scolds you because he doesn\u2019t want you to damage yourself,\u201d replied Peter Sam.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he gives you the heaviest trains because you\u2019re the strongest,\u201d said Sir Handel.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows with you, they\u2019ll always get there on time!\u201d added Peter Sam.<\/p>\n
Duncan was furious. \u201cYou\u2019re both bein\u2019 silly,” he weeshed. \u201cI\u2019m no one\u2019s favourite!\u201d And he huffed away.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
At the Quarry, Rusty sat patiently waiting for the trucks. When Duncan arrived, red-faced and spluttering, Rusty gave him a cheerful beep-boop. \u201cHullo, Duncan! You look ready for the Festival. Are you planning to make that face for the pictures?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is makin\u2019 fun of me, sayin\u2019 I\u2019m The Thin Controller’s favourite engine,\u201d fumed Duncan. \u201cCan you believe tha\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can,\u201d said Rusty. \u201cI expect they said that because it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI s\u2019pose you all think this is a great joke,\u201d said Duncan, miserable now. \u201cPayin\u2019 me out like this when I\u2019ve done nothin\u2019 wrong, makin\u2019 me feel foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rusty paid him no mind, instead buffering up to the rear of the train as Duncan was uncoupled.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d he bemoaned. \u201cI\u2019m no\u2019 some \u2018splendid\u2019 Little Old Engine. I\u2019m a plain-speakin\u2019 factory engine. I say what\u2019s on my mind, no bother. I\u2019m no one\u2019s favourite engine, least of all The Thin Controller\u2019s. He probably thinks as little of me as you lot seem to!\u201d<\/p>\n
After a moment of silence, Rusty honked loudly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou great, silly engine! Were that I you, and I couldn\u2019t see past the end of my own nose! How simple life would seem, indeed!\u201d Rusty pulled up alongside Duncan, puffing a cloud of black smoke in his direction, as cross as Duncan had ever seen. \u201cIf you\u2019re so worried about it, go and ask him yourself,\u201d snapped Rusty, rolling away and leaving Duncan speechless.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
The Thin Controller was on the platform at the station making Arrangements for the Festival with the Station Manager. Duncan chuffed slowly forward, stopping short of them to wait for the conversation to finish. Even after the Station Manager left, The Thin Controller had not looked up from his clipboard.<\/p>\n
Duncan’s wheels wobbled. He was suddenly quite nervous.<\/p>\n
“Hello Duncan.” The Thin Controller’s words startled him, and he abruptly hooted his whistle in surprise.<\/p>\n
“Hullo! Afternoon, Sir,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I’m very busy, Duncan.” The Thin Controller flipped a page over his clipboard. “Is there something I can help you with?”<\/p>\n
“No\u2013 well, yes. Not ‘help’ as such, Sir. It’s just\u2013” said Duncan, bumbling over his words. At this, The Thin Controller looked up.<\/p>\n
“It’s the other engines, Sir. They’ve been teasin’ me all day, sayin’ that I’m your favourite engine, which of course I said was ridiculous, Sir.” Duncan studied the track ahead of him intently. “I didn’t want the word to reach you and you thinkin’ I was all puffed-up in the smokebox, Sir. I expect they think it’s a great joke, seein’ as I’m just a coarse and plain factory engine who can’t go two days without a scoldin’, so they’re saying things that aren’t true. Can’t <\/em> be true.” Duncan closed his eyes.<\/p>\n “An’ I figure since you have the Festival to worry abou\u2019, well. I\u2013 I wanted to set the record straight, Sir.” Duncan chanced a glance at The Thin Controller. Duncan expected him to be cross or maybe even to laugh at him. Instead, he was looking at him in a way Duncan didn’t recognize.<\/p>\n “Duncan\u2026” The way The Thin Controller said his name made Duncan’s wheels wobble even more. It didn’t sound <\/em> like he was going to be told off but\u2026<\/p>\n “Y-yes, Sir?”<\/p>\n “Do you remember when you first came to the railway,” asked The Thin Controller, soft and careful. “And you rode rough at speed and got stuck in the tunnel?”<\/p>\n Duncan wanted to be indignant, but The Thin Controller was still looking at him in that curious way and he found he couldn’t be cross.<\/p>\n “Yes, Sir, I remember.”<\/p>\n “How do you manage that now?”<\/p>\n Duncan was not sure where this line of questioning was going. “Well, my wheelbase is still short, so I try to take the rough track slower. Means I have to leave early some days,” he groused despite himself.<\/p>\n “That’s right,” said The Thin Controller, eyes crinkling at the corners. “And do you remember when we made our deal that you\u2019d get a new coat of paint if you didn’t complain for a whole day?”<\/p>\n “…and I couldn’t do it,” Duncan muttered, frowning at his buffers.<\/p>\n “But you tried,” said The Thin Controller, startling Duncan again. “And you came to me to apologise when you knew you’d failed.”<\/p>\n Duncan grumbled something about it being only fair, but The Thin Controller went on.<\/p>\n “You aren’t like the other engines, Duncan. It’s easy for them. They’ve been here a long time and they’re accustomed to work on a passenger Railway in the outdoors. You came from a factory, it\u2019s true, and that might make you\u2026\u201d he trailed off, looking skyward for a moment with a small smile. \u201c…Difficult, some days.\u201d<\/p>\n Duncan flushed and opened his mouth to argue or perhaps apologise, but the Thin Controller stepped closer, meeting his eyes earnestly. \u201cBut you\u2019re as reliable as they come and you never shy away from a job,\u201d he said. \u201cNo engine here tries harder than you, Duncan.\u201d<\/p>\n Duncan trembled. He felt like there was something lodged in his funnel.<\/p>\n “And in my book\u2013 which, I might remind you, is the only book on this <\/em> Railway that matters\u2013 that’s what counts. So I would appreciate it,” The Thin Controller said kindly, “If you didn’t call the pride of my Railway ‘coarse’ and ‘plain’, because I think he’s Really Useful.”<\/p>\n “Oh.\u201d Duncan felt dazed by such a high compliment. It settled on him heavily. \u201cY-yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir. Thank you, Sir.”<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n \u201cD\u2019you think he finally believes us?\u201d asked Rheneas. \u201cAbout being the favourite?\u201d<\/p>\n They sat together, watching Duncan as people milled about, taking pictures and admiring his fine paintwork.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe, maybe not,\u201d smiled Skarloey. At that moment, Duncan laughed and hooted his whistle at a visitor\u2019s request. \u201cI expect it doesn\u2019t really matter either way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I suppose not,\u201d agreed Rheneas. \u201cIt\u2019s not like he\u2019s getting special treatment. Might even be more of a burden on him, really.\u201d<\/p>\n Skarloey chuckled. \u201cYou\u2019re right! The Thin Controller might be harder on him now. He can\u2019t let it get around that he\u2019s playing favourites!\u201d<\/p>\n The Little Old Engines smiled at each other and laughed.<\/p>\n And in every picture taken at the Festival, Duncan beamed.<\/p>\n This one is more my co-author’s work than mine. Ray just throwin’ down a heartwrencher about my favorite Skarloey Railway dynamic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was to be the Storybook Festival on the Skarloey Railway. People from near and far would come to admire the engines and hear the stories that had been written about them. All the little engines had received new coats of paint for the occasion, and were quite excited. Rheneas gave Duncan a bump on accident as he was shunting his trucks into place. \u201cMind the paint!\u201d hissed Duncan. \u201cI\u2019ll no\u2019 have it scratched before the Festival. Not that I expect anyone will notice if it is,\u201d he huffed. \u201cEvery year they come to see the Little Old Engines, not poor Duncan, no sir. All the work I do, and none of the credit\u2013\u201d Skarloey was sitting at the other platform watching them. He laughed. \u201cNow, now. I don\u2019t think The Thin Controller would be very happy if his favourite engine didn\u2019t look his best,\u201d he said, and he winked […]<\/p>\n