In our world, in a remote part of the Irish Sea between the Isle of Man and England, there is a very large island, surrounded by beautiful blue sea. It has fields of green and sandy yellow beaches. There are rivers, streams, and lots of trees where the birds sing. There are also lots and lots of railway lines stretching from coast to coast. The mainline is known as the North Western Railway, and it is the busiest industry on the whole island. This island is the Island of Sodor.

Summertime is always beautiful on the Island of Sodor. This time of year, the sky is blue, the sun shines, and beautiful flowers blossom everywhere. It was always peaceful this time of year, but it was always a very busy time for the engines on the railway. Rain or shine, the engines of the railway work hard, carrying passengers and goods from place to place.

There are lots of engines who work on the railway. Some are big, some are small, and others are fast, strong, old, and new. There are many steam engines, and there are also plenty of new, modern diesel engines. Despite their differences, all the engines work hard to be useful.

Perhaps the busiest engine on the Island of Sodor is a cheeky little tank engine with six small wheels, a short stumpy boiler, a short stumpy dome, and a short stumpy funnel. This engine is painted blue with red stripes, and a big yellow number one painted on its tanks. The engine is the famous Thomas the Tank Engine, who has become well-known and respected across the world and has proven that his number one is his iconic symbol of leadership.

Thomas loves summertime most of all. He enjoys traveling up and down his branch line with the gentle breeze blowing across his funnel and the sun shining on his bright blue paint. He also loves the smell of the flowers surrounding him as he puffs along happily, pulling his faithful coaches, Annie and Clarabel.

Thomas often acts as a leader to many of the engines, even though some of the bigger engines enjoy belittling him. Sometimes, he can be cheeky and troublesome, but in the end, he always proves his worth to people and engines alike.

Late one sunny evening, Thomas was puffing along his branch line with Annie and Clarabel. The coaches were full of passengers heading home for the night. Thomas was pulling his last branch line train back to Knapford Station, which was the busiest on the mainline.

As Thomas chuffed along, he could see the sun setting in the west. The sky was lit with red, yellow, and orange, and the clouds around the sun were illuminated pink. It was warm and sunny one moment, but then the air began to cool down a lot, and the clouds in the sky grew darker.

Thomas glanced up and noticed the sky darkening, and he frowned. "Bother," he sighed, "and it was such a beautiful sunset, too." Just then, he heard a rumbling sound, and a bolt of lightning flashed in the distance.

"Clattering carriages!" gasped Annie. "It looks like a summer storm is approaching."

Thomas began to speed up a little. "I'd better get my passengers home before it starts raining," he said to himself.

Thomas had to stop at Dryaw Station, which was the last station before Knapford on his branch line. Thomas's passengers got on and off, just as usual. But as the passengers went about their business, Clarabel noticed something falling from the sky. But it wasn't rain falling from the sky… it was a snowflake!

"Thomas," Clarabel called to him. "I think that you might want to see this."

Thomas looked up, and he could see snow falling from the clouds. "Snow?" he asked. "How can it snow in summer?"

"We don't know," Annie and Clarabel said together.

Suddenly, Thomas felt a chilly wind blow across his face. "Brrr," he shivered, "it sure feels like winter. I don't understand."

The snow didn't melt when it hit the ground, but it did quickly turn anything it hit very slippery. The tracks were still warm, so when the snow hit the tracks, it melted into water and then refroze into ice. Thomas could see the ice forming along the rails, and he was worried. "I think something's going on here," he said, "but I'm not sure what…"

At that moment, the conductor blew his whistle and waved his green flag, which meant it was time to go.

"Oh well," Thomas said, "I guess we'll have to see if Sir Topham Hatt knows anything about this." He tooted his whistle, and he set off down the track towards Knapford Station, puffing slowly and carefully.

At last, Thomas reached Knapford Station. The sky was still cloudy, but the snow was not falling here. The last trains of the day had already finished their runs, and most of the engines had returned to their sheds.

As Thomas came closer to the junction, he saw one of his best friends, Rosie. Rosie was a tank engine that was almost just like Thomas. When she first came to the Island of Sodor, she idolized Thomas and strived to be just like him, which he found annoying at first. But after Rosie had helped Thomas out of an accident, Thomas lightened up to her and was happy to acknowledge her as his friend. Only recently, Rosie had been repainted from pink to red.

Rosie was talking to Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of the North Western Railway. She looked worried, and she kept glancing up at the sky.

"Sir," asked Rosie, "are you sure that the storm will be too dangerous to work in?"

"Yes," answered Sir Topham Hatt. "From what I've heard on the weather report, it's supposed to be very windy with heavy rain. That's normal at this time of year."

Then, Rosie saw Thomas pull into the station and come to a stop at the platform. Immediately, she looked happy to see him. "Hello, Thomas," she said cheerfully.

Thomas still looked worried. "Hi, Rosie," he said.

Rosie noticed he was looking worried. "What's wrong, Thomas?" she asked.

"Well, I don't understand why," Thomas spoke up, "but I noticed ice forming on the rails on my branch line as I was making my way back."

Rosie gasped. "Did you say ice, Thomas?" he asked nervously.

"Yes." Then he spoke to Sir Topham Hatt. "Sir, for some reason, I saw snow on my way back. Do you know why that is?"

Sir Topham Hatt frowned, looking concerned. "I'm afraid not, Thomas," he stated, "but from what I've heard, it looks like there is a cold front approaching. This is very rare at this time of year."

Thomas suddenly had a thought. "Hmm… I think that something terrible must be happening," he answered, "somewhere far away, and it will affect us, too."

Rosie was nervous. "What is it, Thomas?" she asked.

"I don't know, Rosie," said Thomas.

Just then, Percy the Small Engine raced into the station beside Thomas, pulling the mail train. He was in so much of a hurry, he overshot the platform. Realizing his mistake, he sheepishly reversed back to the platform.

"Percy," sighed Sir Topham Hatt, "what's gotten into you?"

"Sorry, sir," said Percy, "I'm just trying to finish my mail run before the storm comes in."

"It's too late for that, Percy," Thomas told him. "The storm's already coming down out on my branch line."

"I've already delivered the mail there, Thomas," Percy told him. "The storm's coming in from the northeast. I still have time to deliver the rest of the mail along the southern side of the island, so I should get going as soon as I can."

The porters finished unloading the mail, and the guard blew his whistle, signaling for Percy to go. He peeped his whistle, and he set off right away.

After Percy had gone, Sir Topham Hatt spoke to his two engines. "Well, Thomas and Rosie, you two should head back to your sheds and get some sleep," he said to them. "There will be a lot more work to do tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Thomas answered, but before he set off, Rosie spoke up.

"If you'd like, I could take Annie and Clarabel back to the shed for you, Thomas," she said kindly.

Thomas looked at his friend. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes," said Rosie, looking a little shy. "I have much further to go than you do, so if I took care of Annie and Clarabel, then you could get back to your shed faster."

Thomas smiled. "Okay, Rosie," he said, "thank you." So, he was uncoupled from his coaches, and he set off for Tidmouth Sheds.

In a few minutes, Rosie had switched onto Annie and Clarabel's track and coupled up to them. She took them to their shed beside the station, and she gently parked them inside it. Annie and Clarabel thanked her, and Rosie set off for her shed.

By the time Thomas got back to Tidmouth Sheds, it was dark. It was still evening, but the clouds were now so heavy, they were blocking out the light. However, it wasn't snowing there yet, either. All the other engines were there, too. They were talking about the cold front and the upcoming bad weather.

Thomas came to a stop on the turntable. He was turned around, and he backed up into his berth, still looking puzzled and worried.

Edward the Blue Engine could see Thomas looked unhappy. "What's the matter, Thomas?" he asked.

Thomas told the other engines all about the ice and the cold front. After hearing the story, they looked worried too, but Gordon the Big Express Engine scoffed.

"Huh!" he stated proudly. "There can't be ice on the tracks during the summer, silly little engine."

Thomas didn't like being called a silly little engine. But he didn't argue with Gordon about it. "You'll see, Gordon," he thought. "By tomorrow, everything will be covered in snow, just like I said."

"How can you be sure, Thomas?" James said confidently. "You don't know for sure what the weather will bring."

But Henry the Green Engine began to worry. "What if Thomas's story is true?" he asked. "What if the tracks get too slippery for us to travel on? And what if the snow becomes too thick to travel through?"

"Don't be so worried, Henry," Emily assured him. "It'll be okay. Besides, it's too warm to be icy."

"Exactly," James agreed. "It's summertime. If we get any weather from these clouds, it will be rain, not snow."

Thomas didn't listen to James. "There's just something telling me that it will snow," he insisted. "I don't know what it is, but something inside me is just sure it'll snow."

Toby the Tram Engine was sitting on the track next to Emily's shed. He glanced up at the sky, and he looked nervous as well. "Well, whatever weather comes, that won't change the fact that we'll still need to be careful if it happens," he said wisely. "The rails can be very slippery if they get wet."

Gordon scoffed. "Rain doesn't bother me, nor does snow," he boasted. "I am fastest and best, and I pull the Express!"

Thomas rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. "Yeah, we all know, Gordon," Thomas stated.

"Good," boasted Gordon. "Now, go to sleep."

All the other engines went to sleep, but not Thomas. He couldn't sleep right away, so he pulled out of the shed quietly. He pulled onto the turntable and the track in front of him. Since the turntable lined his berth up with another track, he didn't need to turn around at all.

Thomas went for a short run, and he stopped in an open space. After that, he didn't move. Instead, he just stayed where he was for a long time and looked up at the sky.

"I wish I knew what was going on," he whispered to himself. "Maybe everything will come clear tomorrow…" He stayed parked for a long time, and once he was tired, he finally went back to his shed and went to sleep.

A fair distance away from the Island of Sodor, on the southern coast of Norway, is a kingdom surrounded by mountains. The kingdom goes by the name of Arendelle. The queen of Arendelle, Elsa, and her younger sister, Princess Anna, rein the throne of the entire kingdom.

Elsa appeared to be an ordinary young woman, but she was much more special than that. At her birth, she was gifted with powers controlling ice and snow, but she had isolated herself from her sister for a long time. After Elsa had accidentally created an endless winter upon her kingdom, she had banished herself to the North Mountain, but she eventually returned thanks to Anna's kind nature.

Elsa and Anna love summer, and they enjoy all the things about it. Even if it were to get too hot, Elsa could simply use her powers to bring snow. Usually, she and all the people of Arendelle lived in peace, but Elsa and Anna were soon to find out that all the wonders would soon disappear… and they and only one other could restore it.

Over in Arendelle, Elsa and Anna stood outside their palace, looking up into the nighttime sky. The cold front had reached their kingdom, and it was already snowing hard Anna had already bundled up in her winter clothing, but Elsa wore just her iconic dress made of ice. Because Elsa had created it using her ice powers, she wore it almost all the time, and it would never melt.

Anna looked worried, so she looked at her sister. "Elsa," she said, "this is not right for this time of year. It's supposed to be summer here, and for some reason, it's like when you caused that eternal winter."

"Well, this time it's not my doing," Elsa stated.

"Can you undo it?" asked Anna.

"Well, I can try." Elsa focused her ice powers onto the cold front, trying to stop the cold weather. Unfortunately, it didn't work, as the snow and icy winds didn't cease. Snow and ice swirled in front of them from Elsa's hands, and it just created a little snow cloud.

Elsa dissipated the snow cloud. "Sorry, Anna, I guess I was wrong," she sighed. "I guess something more powerful than myself is causing this weather."

"Really?" asked Anna. "Do you know of anyone else who has the same powers as you who might be doing it?"

"No," said Elsa, "I don't." She pondered for a minute, and then she shrugged. "Well, I guess that if we want things to go back to normal, we may need to find someone to help us stop this cold front."

"But who could help us stop this weather?" asked Anna.

"I'm not sure," Elsa answered. "But we should probably go inside and get ready for bed. It's getting late, and the snow's getting even heavier."

"You're right," agreed Anna, "I'm getting cold."

The two sisters turned towards the palace and headed inside.

Later that night, Elsa had changed into her nightgown and was laying upright in her bed, wide awake. She was still worried about the cold front, and it was causing her to not feel sleepy. She looked at a clock on the wall, and the time read 10:30 pm.

Elsa looked at her bedroom's bookshelf. "Maybe I'll read a book to help me feel tired," Elsa said to herself. "I don't think I've read many of those books since I was a kid." Elsa climbed out of bed and walked over to her room's bookshelf. She picked out one book at random, but she didn't pay attention to what the title was. Once she grabbed it, she went back to her bed.

When Elsa sat back onto her bed with her book, she turned on a lamp beside her bed. She swung her feet onto the bed, and she looked at the front cover of the book. The book was titled "Thomas the Tank Engine" and on the cover was a picture of a blue tank engine with a smiling face, and a bright yellow Number One on its side.

"Hmm, Thomas the Tank Engine," said Elsa. "I never remember reading this book before. I must've had it since Anna and I were kids, and I never noticed it. Well, I guess I might as well read it."

Elsa opened the book, and there was a picture of an island inside the front cover, located between England and the Isle of Man. Unknown to Elsa at the time, that island was the Island of Sodor. Then, Elsa read through the rest of the book, all the while learning all about who Thomas the Tank Engine was. The book described Thomas's very first adventures from many years ago, such as his first passenger train and when he got his branch line.

When Elsa finished reading the book, she felt even more awake than before. "Wow," Elsa said to herself, "this Thomas character seems very special." She turned back to the inside of the front cover and saw the map of the Island of Sodor again. "The Island of Sodor…" Elsa said to herself, and then she looked at the bookcase.

She went back to the bookcase and quickly found a map of the world. She opened it up and immediately located the Island of Sodor on it. As it turned out, it was close to Arendelle, only a few countries away.

Then, Elsa saw another book in her bookshelf right beside where she picked up the first book. It was another book about Thomas, so she put the map and the first book away, then she took the next book and read that one as well. Once she finished that book, she saw a lot more books about Thomas on the shelf, each one having chronicled one or more of Thomas's adventures. One by one, she read every book about Thomas on the bookshelf, and she learned more about him.

After Elsa finished reading the last book, she smiled. "Well," Elsa said to herself, "it seems that this Thomas the Tank Engine character has great potential… Maybe I can bring him here, and he could help us." She put the last book back in the bookshelf, and then she very quietly walked to her window.

Elsa opened the window, and then using her powers, she summoned a crystal of ice a few feet in front of the palace door. Then, she closed the window and went to bed. The crystal of ice gained power as the snow continued to fall, and from the bottom, two long, parallel rods made of ice began to grow.

Elsa looked up into the sky and closed her eyes, pressing her hands to her heart. "Oh, Thomas the Tank Engine," she whispered, "wherever you are, I hope you may receive my message. Please… come to Arendelle and help us through this cold front. I look forward to meeting you." Then, she generated a snowflake between her hands, lifted it to her face, and blew it into the wind.

Elsa closed her window, and then she climbed back into her bed and climbed under the covers. She closed her eyes and went to sleep, hoping that her message would reach Thomas. She would ask him to help her, and in return, she would help him.