| This article is about the magazine story. You may be looking for the episode. |
- "Where's the koala with the little white beard? I saw him today at the water tank."
"That's Banjo, he's not here!" - ― Thomas and Ranger Jill
Banjo and the Bushfire is a magazine story illustrated using images from the television series. Originally published in 2021, it was reprinted in 2024 as part of the "Classic Thomas Story Collection" series with slight alterations to the images and text.
Plot[]
Thomas is working in the Australian rainforest which is also known as the bush and is full of unusual animals. While Thomas is looking at a tree frog, Tamika arrives and explains the importance of the trees that are home to hundreds of animals. A little further down the line, Thomas stops to fill up with water. A koala bear is sitting on the water tower's pipe. Thomas politely asks the koala to get down and the little marsupial obliges. As he is filling up, Thomas hears a strange noise. It is a nearby ranger who is making bird sounds. The forest ranger is Ranger Jill and she is impersonating a kookaburra as there is one in distress that she is trying to find.
Jill soon finds the kookaburra and helps it get free from the snack packet it is stuck in. Thomas offers to give Jill a lift to the ranger station but on the way he notices a bushfire. Thomas and Jill race away from the fire, picking up any slow-moving koalas they find along the way. Other animals are able to escape the fire by themselves. Safely back at the ranger's station, Jill checks over the rescued koalas. Thomas asks where the koala with the little white beard he had seen earlier at the water tower is. Jill tells him that koala is called Banjo and he is not among the rescued koalas.
Thomas races back into the bushfire to find Banjo. He heads straight for the water tower and luckily, Banjo is still there and Thomas is able to rescue him. When they arrive back at the ranger's station, Jill is glad to see them both. The firefighters have finally gotten the bushfire under control and the animals are safe again.
Characters[]
- Thomas
- Ranger Jill
- Banjo
- Tamika (not seen)
Locations[]
Trivia[]
- This story is based on the twenty-second series episode of the same name.
- Unlike the original episode:
- Tamika is not seen.
- Annie, Clarabel and Sir Topham Hatt do not appear, nor are they mentioned.
Gallery[]
2021[]
2024[]
