Thomas Toots the Crows (magazine story)

Thomas Toots the Crows is a magazine story illustrated using images from the CGI television series.

Plot
It is the time of the year when the farmers plant their seeds so new crops can grow on the Island of Sodor. Thomas is on his way to deliver straw to Farmer McColl when he notices a flock of noisy crows in the sky. When Thomas arrives at McColl Farm, he sees Farmer McColl trying to shoo the crows away from his field. Farmer McColl explains that if the crows land, they will eat his seed. He goes on to explain that his scarecrow is in a mess and cannot be sorted out until the following morning. Thomas has an idea and offers to stay and scare the birds with his whistle whenever they try to land.

Soon after Farmer McColl has left, Thomas sees two crows land in the field. Thomas toots his whistle, but the crows ignore him. Thomas rolls forwards and the pair of birds fly off down the track. Thomas decides to give chase so that they stay away for good. The crows fly to the Dieselworks where they land on Den. Thomas blows his whistle loudly, causing Den to wake up with a start. Den is not very happy, but the crows soon fly off and Thomas chases them again. This time, Thomas chases the crows to the Sodor Steamworks. The crows land on Gordon's boiler, who is there being repainted. Thomas blows his whistle loudly and startles the workman who inadvertently paints a moustache across an angry Gordon's face. Next, the crows fly to the quarry where they land on Mavis. Thomas blows his whistle loudly and makes Mavis jump forward and biff into her trucks. Thomas apologises, but his loud whistle has finally worked; the crows are nowhere to be seen.

Thomas races back to tell Farmer McColl the good news. However, Farmer McColl is not happy at all; whilst Thomas had been chasing the two crows, lots more had flown down and eaten all of Farmer McColl's seeds. Thomas feels bad until he comes up with an idea; he decides to stay overnight until the scarecrow can be fixed, which makes Farmer McColl very happy. Thomas toots through the night and not one seed is eaten.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Farmer McColl
 * Gordon
 * Den
 * Mavis

Trivia

 * This story is based on the sixteenth series episode of the same name.
 * After the story, readers can colour in a picture of Gordon.