10 Stories from Thomas & Friends

10 Stories from Thomas & Friends is a book of 10 stories published by Publications International in 2000, and is in the publisher's 'Play-A-Sound' series, meaning the book has sounds to accompany the stories inside. This book contains 16 different sounds. The stories themselves have lots of small icons through ought, which show the reader which buttons to press at which point.

Trouble Near the Tracks
The country fair is being held on a beautiful spring day, and Thomas is bringing a cow which he hopes will win first prize. However, Thomas noticed Bertie in trouble, and stopped to help. Bertie had a flat tire, and Thomas stayed with Bertie to help him. Then James came along, and noticed the cow was wandering away. Thomas didn't know what to do, but as James was bringing hay to the fair, he decided to help Thomas and bring the cow. Thomas thanked James, and stayed with Bertie until help arrived. The cow won first prize as the best cow in the county; Thomas and Bertie arrived and joined in with James and the happy crowd as they celebrated.

Characters: Thomas, James and Bertie

Harold Needs Help
When Harold woke up in the morning, he had a problem - his propeller couldn't turn the way it should. He told Sir Topham Hatt, who suggested that Thomas should take him to the repair shop near the seaside. Harold was put on a flatbed attached to Thomas, and they set off to the seaside. Sir Topham Hatt was waiting at the workshop when Thomas and Harold arrived, and Harold apologised to him, explaining how sorry he was that he couldn't work that day. Sir Topham Hatt said it was fine, as everyone gets sick or injured once in a while.

Characters: Thomas, Harold and Sir Topham Hatt

Thomas Races Percy
As Thomas and Percy had no work for the day, Sir Topham Hatt told they could do whatever they wanted. Thomas suggested they should race to the seaside, and Percy agreed. The engines got going on separate tracks, speeding towards the seaside. Percy zoomed in front, but Thomas soon caught up and over took him. However, Thomas suddenly noticed a cow on the tracks, and slowed to a stop. Percy roared past Thomas, yelling that he was going to win the race. Thomas wanted to win, but had done the right thing - safety first he told Percy.

Characters: Thomas, Percy and Sir Topham Hatt

James' New Paint
Thomas arrived at the train yard, smelling fresh paint. He asked Henry what the painters were working on, and Henry told him that James was getting a new coat of paint today. Thomas was sad, as he would have liked a new coat of paint. He set off to find James. Thomas found James, and started telling him how much he would like a new coat of paint as well. Sir Topham Hatt over heard, and explained to Thomas that he shouldn't be upset - James was getting a new coat of paint as he had not been painted in a long time and had many rust spots ,and that Thomas should be happy that that he doesn't need fixing. Thomas understood, was glad that he didn't need fixing, and was happy for James. As people heard what Thomas said, they all started to cheer for James!

Characters: Thomas, James, Henry and Sir Topham Hatt

Harold's Nighttime Search
Henry was off to the seaside to pick up supplies from the cargo ships at the docks. However, he spotted a boulder on the track ahead, and stopped quickly! He couldn't get past the boulder. As the sun began to set, Sir Topham Hatt noticed that Henry hadn't arrived at the seaside yet. He asked Harold to go and find Henry. Harold found Henry, and picked the boulder up in a net. Harold lifted it out of the way, and Henry chuffed on his way to the seaside.

Characters: Henry, Harold and Sir Topham Hatt

The Dangerous Shortcut
Thomas was late getting back to the train yard, but wanted to figure out a way to get back in time, so that Sir Topham Hatt would not think he was unreliable. He decided to take a shortcut he had heard about. While he was steaming along, he noticed the tracks ahead looked dangerous and tried to slow down. Though it was too late, he slid off the tracks and into a ditch. Luckily, Percy was going past on the regular tracks and saw what had happened. Percy pulled him out of the ditch and back onto the normal tracks. Thomas promised never to use the shortcut again, and he said he knew that he shouldn't travel on any old tracks.

Characters: Thomas, Percy and Sir Topham Hatt

Henry Teaches a Lesson
Thomas and Percy were very excited, as Sir Topham Hatt had decided that they should follow Henry, so they could learn about the Docks and how to be safe there. Henry met up with Thomas and Percy, and soon they arrived at the seaside. Henry tried to show them where to put the cargo, but Thomas said that he and Percy already knew what to do. Henry chugged off to a safe area, while Thomas and Percy stayed where the cranes were being loaded off the ships. All of a sudden, one of the cranes dropped a crate, Henry shouted at the two engines to look out, and the crate smashed onto the ground just in front of Thomas. Thomas realised that Henry was right, and that he should always try and learn from more experienced engines.

Characters: Thomas, Percy, Henry and Sir Topham Hatt

Thomas Rescues Percy
Thomas was feeling sad, as he always saw Harold helping others out when they were in trouble, he thought that he was not as good as Harold. Sir Topham Hatt saw that Thomas was sad, and told him that he was a Really Useful Engine, and that he had a very important job for him to do. Percy was stuck in a tunnel after he ran out of fuel, and Harold can't help him - Thomas is the only one who can. Thomas raced off to help Percy, and soon found him stuck in the tunnel. Percy thanked him as he coupled on, and pulled him out of the tunnel. As Thomas rescued Percy, Harold called down to him congratulating him - they were both useful, he said.

Characters: Thomas, Percy, Harold and Sir Topham Hatt

Bertie Saves the Day
Sir Topham Hatt was in a good mood, and decided that today would be a good day for a music festival, and asked Thomas to bring all the musicians to Tidmouth station. Thomas picked up several trucks loaded with musicians, instruments and wooden planks to build the music stage. But when he was on his way to the site of the festival, disaster struck - one of his wheels broke down! Bertie saw what happened to Thomas, and suggested to have the music festival out in the countryside, where Thomas had broken down. Thomas agreed, and Bertie raced off to Tidmouth to collect all the people. Bertie soon came back, and the music festival was underway.

Characters: Thomas, Bertie and Sir Topham Hatt

Sir Topham Hatt's Birthday
Sir Topham Hatt was alone in his office, and noticed that something wasn't right - the engines had finished work for the day, but he could still hear Thomas, Percy, Henry and James puffing around. Suddenly, Lady Hatt knocked on his door, and told him to come outside quickly, because something was wrong. He jumped up and ran out the door, only to see all the engines and workmen standing outside cheering. 'Happy Birthday Sir Topham Hatt' they all yelled. Lady Hatt apologised to the Fat Controller for tricking him, but Sir Topham Hatt said it was OK - he had had the best surprise ever!

Characters: Thomas, Percy, James, Henry, Lady Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt

Sounds
The sounds featured in the book are:
 * Thomas' whistle
 * A mooing cow
 * A train crossing warning bell
 * Sir Topham Hatt saying "Thomas, you're a very useful engine!
 * Percy whistling
 * A fanfare
 * An owl hooting in the night
 * Harold's blades whirring
 * Bertie's horn
 * Coupling's connecting
 * People cheering
 * Thomas slowing down and coming to a stop
 * James' whistling
 * Seaside noises (a foghorn and seagulls)
 * A 'sad' sound
 * Henry whistling

Trivia

 * Although the picture for the seaside is of Bulstrode, he is not featured in any of the stories.