Baa!

"And I'll eat my hat if you don't like it!"

- Sir Topham Hatt to the ram

Baa! is the eighth episode of the fifth season.

Plot
One Evening, Percy is tired of the smell of fish after working at the docks all day. He asks his driver to have a washdown, but there isn't time because The Fat Controller is waiting for him at the sheds. At the sheds, The Fat Controller announces a festival of flowers, and that a sign saying "Best Dressed Station" shall be awarded to the winner, and he tells the engines to help out with the arrangements.

The next morning, Percy collects trucks loaded with vegetables and flowers. His driver explains that they'll be displayed on Maithwaite's platform. On the way, Percy sees Harold, and is curious as to why he's buzzing about.Suddenly, Percy is stopped by a ram on the tracks. Percy's now worried that he'll be late, but his driver has just the thing to get him off the line. His driver lures it away with some cabbage and Percy is soon  on his way again. When Percy arrives at Maithwaite, the stationmaster tells them the ram has a reputation for always being hungry. A little while later, Maithwaite is decorated with the Flowers and Vegetables Percy had delivered. Percy then moves into a siding and is later looking forward to a snooze when he hears a commotion at the station and goes to investigate. He discovers the decorations have been ruined and Percy's driver and the passengers suspect that the mess was the Ram's fault. The passengers can't get into the waiting room because of the ram, but Percy's driver also notices three boys inside, aplogizing for the ruining the decorations. The Stationmaster and the passengers then realize that the boys were responsible for vandalizing the station, and that the ram was taking them hostage in the waiting room so that he ram, suspected to be the culprit, has taken three boys "hostage" in the waiting room, making sure they would do no more damage. The boys apologize for vandalizing the station, and promise to put everything back the way it was before.

A few days later, The Fat Controller invites some of the engines to Maithwaite, winner of the best dressed station award. The Fat Controller then gives one more prize for the ram. He hands the ram a pumpkin, but then Harold arrives, and the wind from his blades blow The Fat Controller's hat off, only for it to be eaten by the ram. The Fat Controller laughs and says that it seems he wouldn't be able to eat his hat even he had to. Everyone laughs, and the only sound to come from the ram was a contented hiccup.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Farmer Trotter (not named)
 * Harold (does not speak)
 * Henry (cameo)
 * Gordon (cameo)
 * James (cameo)
 * Duck (cameo)
 * Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
 * Cranky (cameo)
 * Stephen Hatt (cameo)
 * Jem Cole (cameo)
 * Jeremiah Jobling (cameo)
 * The Refreshment Lady (cameo)
 * The Storyteller (cameo)

Locations

 * Ffarquhar
 * Maithwaite
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Brendam Docks
 * Shunting Yards
 * Arlesdale End (mentioned)

Trivia

 * In Norway, this episode is called "The Big Competition". The Italian title is "The Ram". In Japan, this episode is called "Sheep and Percy". The German title is "Maah!".
 * The magazine story, Summer Fun!, suggests that the man holding the pumpkin is Farmer Collett in the television series. However, it is actually Jem Cole.

Goofs

 * Thomas has Edward's whistle sound.
 * When Percy reverses into the shed, James' tender is tilted.
 * Thomas pronounces the first "F" in Ffarquhar.
 * When Percy passes the ram on his way to Maithwaite, his eyes are wonky.
 * Many people are missing eyebrows.
 * When Percy backs up to his vegetable trucks, a train beside him has a brakevan in the middle of it.
 * James has a different whistle sound.
 * Percy's driver changes appearance several times throughout the episode, as does the Maithwaite stationmaster.
 * In the close-ups of the Fat Controller giving the announcement, Duck's funnel is shorter and a different shape.
 * In close-ups of Percy's driver at the docks, a small hair can be seen stuck underneath one of Percy's cab window frames.

Quotes

 * Thomas: "My favourite station is Ffarquhar."
 * Toby: "Mine's Maithwaite. Percy, what's yours?"
 * Percy: "The Docks."
 * Thomas: "Pah! We can tell!"
 * Toby: "The Docks are full of fish, not flowers!"
 * Percy: "Alright then, Arlesdale End."
 * Toby: "That's my home!"
 * Percy: "That's why I like it, especially when you're there and not here saying I'm silly. Good night!"

(Harold arrives, blowing the Fat Controller's hat away. The ram eats it up)
 * The Fat Controller: "I'll eat my hat if you don't like it."
 * The Fat Controller: "Well, seems I wouldn't be able to eat my hat, even if I had to!"