- “Nothing hoots quite as loud as an impatient diesel, that's for sure!”
- ― Daisy's driver
Missing! is a read and colour magazine story.
Plot
One morning, Daisy is given the job of collecting a group of hikers and take them into the countryside. A little boy moans as Daisy pulls into the station; he wants to travel on a steam engine. Daisy tells the little boy that he will see lots of dirty steam engines on his holiday and he will see that diesel engines are better.
Later on, Daisy approaches a tunnel when she is flagged down by a policeman waving a red flag. She sees some of the hikers gathered around him. They explain that two of the hikers have gone missing. One of the little boys had been feeling very tired so his father said he would wait with him on the road by the tunnel, but now they have vanished. The policeman explains that they are searching the tunnel by torchlight and no trains can enter. Daisy does not like being held up, but she is very concerned for the missing hikers. After a while, two policemen emerge from the tunnel and declare that there is no-one in there. Just then, Daisy blasts her horn loudly, causing everyone to cover their ears. A policemen says he wishes his whistle was that loud, then the missing hikers could hear him anywhere.
Sure enough, Daisy's toot has done the trick. A man and a boy get up from a haystack in a nearby field, rubbing their eyes. They had fallen asleep on the haystack and were pleased to rejoin their hiker friends. The little boy apologises for thinking that steam engines are not as good as diesels. Daisy tells the boy that he can tell all of his friends how good diesels are after his holiday. Daisy's driver agrees; nothing hoots quite as loud as an impatient diesel engine.
Characters
Goofs
- The punctuation is in the wrong place during the final line of the story. It incorrectly reads: "Nothing hoots quite as loud as an impatient diesel!" that's for sure!".
Gallery
