Thomas and the Horse

Thomas and the Horse is a magazine story.

Plot
Thomas was waiting at the station by the main line for James' train. James was late and when he finally did pull into the station, he was chuffing very slowly. He explains to Thomas that he had to go slowly has he has a very special passenger in a van at the end of the train. The van was coupled to Thomas' carriage, Clarabel. James tells Thomas that the special passenger is a horse that had been injured and needed to go to the farm near the end of the branch line to get better.

At the farm, Thomas watched the horse walk slowly across the platform. When it was time for Thomas' next train, the tank engine could see the horse in a field. When he puffed by, the horse tried to walk across the field, but couldn't keep up with Thomas. Each time Thomas passed the field, the horse tried to run alongside Thomas. Over time, the horse got faster and faster until he could nearly go as fast as Thomas. One day, as Thomas passed the field, the ran alongside Thomas as usual. But when he got to the edge of the field - the horse jumped over the hedge and kept on running! The next day, a box van was coupled up to Thomas' train and the horse was going home! At the station by the main line, James got ready to take the horse on the remainder of its journey. Thomas whistled goodbye and the horse gave a big "neigh" as James puffed away.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * James
 * Annie (cameo)
 * Clarabel (mentioned)