Thomas and the Kite

"I would like to fly a kite!" "Don't be silly, Thomas! Engines don't fly kites!"

- Thomas and his driver

Thomas and the Kite is a magazine story.

Plot
Every day Thomas chuffs up and down his branch line and never gets tired of the same journey as every day is different. But sometimes Thomas does wish he could try something new. On windy days, he sometimes sees children flying kites on the hillside and, one day, Thomas tells his driver that he would like to fly a kite. The driver tells Thomas that engines do not fly kites, but Thomas is sure that they could given the chance.

Later that week, Thomas sees a kite being flown by a boy. The kite is bigger than any other Thomas has seen and the boy had made it himself out of string, wooden poles and cloth. Unfortunately, the string is not strong enough to hold such a big kite. As Thomas watches, the string breaks and the kite flies away. As Thomas puffs on down the hill, he sees the kite blowing in front of him. Gradually the kite drops beyond a rise in the track. The driver thinks the kite may have landed on the rails, so he proceeds slowly. As Thomas puffs cautiously around the bend, he sees the kite on the rails ahead. The driver grabs the kite, but then scratches his head; they have nowhere to store the kite as it is too big to fit in the cab. Thomas' fireman has an idea. So they double up the remaining string to make it stronger and then attach it to the cab. Thomas is delighted to finally get a chance to fly a kite. The kite is then returned to the boy on the return journey.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Annie
 * Clarabel

Trivia

 * Some elements of the story are similar to the thirteenth series episode, Thomas and the Runaway Kite.

Goofs

 * In the illustration, parts of Thomas' bufferbeam and footplate are yellow.