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It was a chilly 1st of April and the Fat Controller was in a bad mood.
Some naughty children had let the tyres down on his car.
"A bad April Fool," he muttered, and walked to the sheds to brief the engines.
"Where's your car?" asked Thomas.
"Someone let my tyres down," came the reply.
"Why would they do a thing like that?" quizzed Percy.
"Probably their idea of an April Fool," replied Sir Topham Hatt.
"Who's and April Fool?" asked Percy.
"It's a day when people play tricks on one another!" corrected Gordon.
"Well, be on the look out for people who take the jokes too far.
Remember when those boys fiddled with James' controls?" said the Fat Controller, as he turned and walked away.
"Pah, a lot of nonsense if you aske me!" snorted James.
"Well, no-one asked you because you're just a silly red engine," sniffed Gordon.
James steamed away but Percy was worried.
As James steamed along, he thought about pulling a big trick.
"What can I do?" he wondered.
He decided to go and see Percy who was shunting trucks in the yard.
The trucks were up to their usual tricks.
Percy had just managed to get one lot moving, when James puffed up.
He hid in an old shed and whispered to the trucks.
Percy chuffed back, and he pushed and pushed but the trucks would not move.
Percy reversed for a second try.
The trucks slipped their brakes off.
Percy shot forwards. The trucks biffed the buffers. Stone rained down over Percy.
"Ouch!" shrieked Percy.
His paintwork was dented. Percy felt sad - but James was laughing!
"April Fools, Percy!" he shouted and ran out of the yard.
Later, James was delivering planks of wood to Farmer McColl.
Farmer McColl had just started up his tractor.
"Farmer McColl, I think you're telephone is ringing!" lied James.
In a rush, Farmer McColl lent on the handbrake which made the tractor roll out of the farm.
Farmer McColl came running. James was about to say 'April Fools', but he could see Farmer McColl wasn't happy.
"By heck! If that tractor isn't stopped it will roll down the hill and into Wellsworth station. Oh, dear me!" cried Farmer McColl
James was horrorfied. He didn't mean to cause trouble.
James raced quickly away to Wellsworth. He could still see the tractor hurtling down the hill.
It was heading for Oliver and Toad who were resting in their shed. They didn't know about the tractor.
James whistled and shouted but Oliver and Toad didn't hear him.
James raced forwards and shoved Toad out of the way.
The tractor hit James, who was flung off the track. Edward, who was nearby, quickly brought the breakdown train.
James was soon put back onto the rails - he knew what had to be done.
First, he pulled Toad back onto the rails.
"Thank you, Mr. James," said Toad.
He then took the tractor back to Farmer McColl, and apologised.
The tractor was not badly damaged but James was badly dented. But he didn't care.
He wanted to help his friends.
He chuffed back to the yard and found Percy. He buffered up to him and shunted him to the steamworks to have his bents mended.
"Thank you, James," peeped Percy.
"Now, we fix you, James my friend," smiled Victor.
Soon, James was a good as new and a few days later he went to Wellsworth where the Fat Controller gave him a certificate for his bravery.
"I don't deserve it. It was all my fault," he wailed.
"Yes, but you put everything right in the end and risked yourself to save Toad and Oliver.
You, James, are a really splendid engine! Let's just say you were a, erm, April Fool!"
[OUTRO THEME STARTS]
[ENGINE WHISTLES]
Subtitles by SteamTeam