Mister Mighty!

"Tractors have their uses but give me Shire horse power any day!"

- The farmer

Mister Mighty! is a magazine story.

Plot
Whenever Thomas puffs along his branch line, he rushes to reach one particular farm where his friend Mister Mighty lives. Mister Mighty is a big, strong Shire horse who can often be seen ploughing in the field. Thomas always whistles when he sees him and Mister Mighty always looks up and whines in reply. The following morning, Mister Mighty is not in his field. Instead, Thomas is surprised to see Terence pulling the plough. As Thomas waits at a signal, the farmer tells Thomas that he is trying out Terence for a change; he does not need feeding and his caterpillar tracks grip the ground well. The farmer then goes on to say that he's considering buying a tractor of his own.

Thomas is upset as Mister Mighty will have to retire. Soon, it has started raining and Thomas - on his return journey - passes Mister Mighty's farm once again. Thomas stops at the signal again and notices that Terence has stopped, too; one of his caterpillar treads has broken. A breakdown lorry arrives, but cannot get across the muddy field. Thomas has an idea and tells the farmer to fetch Mister Mighty. The Shire horse soon has Terence out of the field and even rescues the breakdown lorry. Next morning, Thomas puffs with pleasure to see Mister Mighty back where he belongs - ploughing in the field.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Terence
 * Mister Mighty
 * Farmer Collett