THREE LITTLE ENGINES GRUFF

Based upon "Three Steam Engines Gruff" by Andrew Brenner

It was autumn on Sodor, and the engines of the Skarloey Railway were taking passengers up and down their line, and that included Sir Handel. Peter Sam was coming in the opposite direction.

"Hello, Peter Sam," called Sir Handel.

"Hello, Sir Handel," replied his friend, then he said in a cheeky way, "Don't the trees look spooky without any leaves?"

"Oh, Peter Sam, don't be ridiculous," Sir Handel rolled his eyes. "There's nothing spooky about it."

"Ooh, you'd be surprised," he laughed. "Sometimes they look like big hands reaching down on the tracks to grab you and pick you up like a toy train."

"You've always had a wild imagination," muttered Sir Handel. "They're only trees." He then puffed away, leaving Peter Sam chuckling to himself.

Further along the line, Sir Handel saw Rusty and some workmen moving some leaves that had clumped up on the line.

"Hey, Sir Handel," called Rusty. "I tell you; leaves and rain don't mix."

"Tell me about it," sighed Sir Handel. "It was a major problem near the Mountain Road on our old line."

"I understand," Rusty replied. "What's new with you?"

"Oh, Peter Sam was just making comments about how trees look spooky without any leaves," Sir Handel groaned.

"You know he's only joking, Sir Handel," chuckled Rusty.

"I suppose so," Sir Handel sighed. "I've known him since the day he was built and I still question his humor."

"That's yin and yang for you," said Rusty.

"Well, let's hope we don't run into this problem again," Sir Handel said to Rusty, setting off. "Good luck clearing it up."

Soon, evening fell on the Skarloey Railway and the engines were getting back to the sheds. Tonight, it was Peter Sam's turn to take the post train across the line.

"Good luck tonight, Peter Sam," said Luke. "I heard it may rain."

"I just hope leaves don't blow onto the tracks," said Peter Sam.

"The workmen just cleared them all," Rusty put in. "Keep your buffers crossed."

"Thanks, Rusty," said Peter Sam, and he steamed away to pick up his vans.

"Traveling by night is a peaceful thing," he smiled as he puffed away.

After he had picked up some post from James' train, Peter Sam heard a very high pitched noise in the distance.

"That's unusual..." Peter Sam said under his breath. "There's no other engines out tonight." He was quiet for a moment before calling. "Hello? Anyone there?"

There was no reply, but the whistle went off again.

"A GHOST!" Peter Sam cried, retreating to the shed.

Back at the sheds, the little engines were fast asleep when they heard frantic whistling coming their way, and three vans were heading fast backwards toward them, followed by a screaming Peter Sam. The vans then ran right into Sir Handel.

"Ouch!" he cried. "What was that about, Peter Sam?!"

"There's a ghost on our line!" cried Peter Sam.

"Peter Sam, you know there's no such thing as ghosts," Skarloey said gently. Duncan, on the other hand, found the whole situation amusing.

"First ya lose trucks off a bridge and now ye're too scared ta take the mail?" he laughed, much to the disgruntlement of everyone else.

"And then you got scared of a fake ghost soon after that," Rusty retorted.

"Hmph!" Duncan looked away and sulked.

"Peter Sam, you'd better get back out there and deliver the mail," said Rheneas.

"Uh... okay, I will," he sighed, hastily taking the vans away.

The next morning was bright and sunny, no sign of any rain clouds. Peter Sam was telling Sir Handel, Rusty and Duncan about what had happened on his run.

"...and then, while crossing the bridge between Glennock and Skarloey - the station, not the engine - I heard the high pitched noise again. It was like nothing I ever heard before. It was very, very spooky."

"Well, it's daytime now and the sun is shining," Rusty assured. "I'm sure whatever it was will be long gone away."

"Maybe it's hiding just to spook Peter Sam," smirked Duncan. "We all know how easily scared he is."

"Oh, leave him alone, Duncan," Sir Handel retorted.

"I have to go over the bridge to get the passengers to their destinations," gulped Peter Sam. "I hope the ghost really is gone this time."

"Well, I have to go over that bridge to take some trucks to the Blue Mountain Quarry," said Duncan.

"Look, there is nothing spooky about the bridge," sighed Rusty. "I have to cross over there to get the workmen to mend some tracks at the Blue Mountain Quarry myself."

"Let's just go about our jobs and see what happens," said Sir Handel.

The four friends split up, and Sir Handel was the first one to be heading towards the bridge.

"All the stories we were told from Duke back on our old line must be going to Peter Sam's smokebox," he said to himself. But then, he came up the bridge.

"Why are you slowing down, ol' boy?" asked his driver. "Is there an animal on the line?"

"No, it's not that," said Sir Handel.

"Then what is it?"

"Peter Sam says he heard something spooky last night as he went over this bridge," Sir Handel explained. "But I'm sure there's nothing to-"

Then he heard the high pitched noise that Peter Sam heard.

"Gah!" yelped Sir Handel. "Ghosts don't take place during the daytime!" Sir Handel raced away, leaving his crew very confused and surprised. He saw his friends soon after he left the bridge.

"Did you hear it, Sir Handel?" asked Peter Sam.

"Yes, I heard that high pitched noise you mentioned," quivered Sir Handel.

"I'm sure there is a sensible explanation for this," Rusty told them.

"Aye, maybe there is a troll under the bridge." said Duncan. "Don't ye remember the Three Billy Goats Gruff?"

"Oh, that old fairy tale," said Sir Handel. "The billy goats got the littlest one to go first, and he survived by getting the troll to go after his older brother."

"So there's a troll on the railway?" asked Peter Sam. "Oh my..."

"There can't be a troll," said Sir Handel. "Peter Sam and I heard a whistle."

"Now we're getting somewhere," said Rusty. "There has to be an engine."

"But who?" asked Peter Sam. "An engine that came before we did?"

"I don't know," said Rusty. "But the only way we'll know is if we check it out."

"Er... you mean we all have to go to the bridge?" Sir Handel asked.

"Yes," said Rusty. Now Peter Sam and Sir Handel looked more nervous than before; this wasn't helped by the sound of thunder and lightning, indicating that a storm was about to begin.

"I don't wish to see whoever it is," cried Peter Sam. "I'm getting out of the way first!"

"Right behind you," came Sir Handel. Rusty sighed and followed right behind them, just as the rain began to fall.

"Calm down, Peter Sam," said his driver. "What are you racing for?"

"I can't stop, there's something unusual on the Skarloey Railway," he told his driver.

"It's probably gone," sighed the fireman. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"A ghost is something to worry about!" protested Peter Sam. The high pitched noise was heard again.

"The ghost is back!" Peter Sam cried, rushing forward.

"I'm not sticking around," added Sir Handel. "Wait for me!"

"Duke really told a lot of stories that spooked you, didn't he?" muttered Rusty.

"Rusty, be careful!" cried Sir Handel, hearing the diesel moving. "The ghost may get you."

As Rusty traveled forward, he heard the sound too, but he looked around carefully to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary.

"If you can hear us," he called to nothing in particular, "will you please come forward?" The little diesel then tooted his horn, hoping to get a response.

"Rusty?" called the reply, and a whistle came shortly after. "Is that you?"

"Wait a minute," said Peter Sam. "That voice sounds familiar..."

"It's Trevor!" realized Sir Handel. Sure enough, the green traction engine was stuck in thick mud in a nearby field.

"Trevor, what are you doing so close to our line?" asked Sir Handel.

"The farmers here needed someone to help saw logs for lumber deliveries," Trevor explained. "My normal driver was out sick, and my relief driver was foolish enough to drive me into some super thick mud."

"So this whole thing... was a misunderstanding?!" snapped Sir Handel, causing Peter Sam to chuckle sheepishly.

"Take it easy, Sir Handel," soothed Trevor. "Peter Sam didn't know about the mess I was in. Although I could use some help if it's no bother."

"Oh, of course," Peter Sam agreed. "Driver, could you call Terence's owner?"

Peter Sam's driver did so, and soon, Terence was brought over to help Trevor out.

"That's better," Trevor sighed. "Thanks, Terence."

"Glad to be of service, Trevor," smiled Terence.

"We'd better get back to work," said Rusty. "See you two later."

"Wait, I have an idea," said Peter Sam, and he whispered a plan to Sir Handel, Rusty and Trevor.

"Duncan, Duncan!" cried Rusty, panting and tooting his horn frantically. The gruff Scottish engine looked at the little diesel with surprise; this was uncharacteristic of Rusty to be in such a panic.

"Duncan, there's a m-monster over there," Rusty explained.

"Don't tell me Sir Handel and Peter Sam have been telling you too many ghost stories lately," grunted Duncan, puffing over to where Rusty was looking.

"I don't see anything unusual..." Duncan said quietly. Just then, he heard the high pitched sound along with a low sound echoing around the area.

"Wh-what was that?" asked Duncan worriedly. The echo came back as soon as it faded away.

"Gh-gh-ghost!" he cried, racing off. After Duncan was out of earshot, Trevor and Terence came out from behind a hollow log, laughing.

"Poor Duncan, getting spooked again," laughed Rusty.

"Pretty good plan, wouldn't you agree, Sir Handel?" chuckled Peter Sam.

"Well... I guess it is kind of funny," Sir Handel chuckled. The three engines, Trevor and Terence all shared a good laugh, knowing that Duncan won't be teasing anyone for the rest of the autumn season.

THE END

Author's Comments

At long last, I'm back with writing stories and rewrites for Thomas and Friends! Last time I wrote for it was back in 2015, and a lot of them were not very good by my current standards. Hopefully that will change as we come into the new decade.

Anyway, as for my rewrite of Three Steam Engines Gruff, my least favorite episode of an otherwise amazing season 20, I thought that Percy and Toby were very badly characterized, going back on the character rerailment they went through beforehand. On another downside, the Skarloey engines didn't get any focus, and any they did manage to get were nothing more than bit parts. They are underutilized to a ridiculous extent. That was very much why I chose Sir Handel, Peter Sam and Rusty in place of Thomas, Percy and Toby, and even expanded on Trevor's role and gave Terence and Duncan some roles to play as well.

So, will there be more rewrites from me? You can bet there will be! I don't know what I'll rewrite next; I guess it'll be a surprise as to what I choose. As an aside, I'd been inspired by the writings (and rewritings) of Chase The Ferroequinologist and DDandT6 that they've done here as of late to get back to writing for Thomas again. Check them out while you can; they are amazing writers and deserve all the exposure they can get.