- “Get out of my way, little toy tank engine!”
- ― Diesel 10
Thomas and the Beanstalk is a Golden Book.
Plot[]
One night in the sheds, Thomas tells James and Percy his favourite fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk.
The next day, Thomas is tasked with picking up a load of beans from the farm. Suddenly, he is bashed off the rails by Diesel 10 and the sacks of beans are spilt. When Thomas awakes, feeling dazed and confused, he sees a tiny leaf shoot out of the ground. The leaf turns into a plant and then into a towering beanstalk. Unlike the one in his story, this beanstalk has railway tracks running right the way to the top. Curious, Thomas decides to bravely travel up the beanstalk.
When he reaches the top, Thomas is amazed at what he sees. Everything makes Thomas feel so small, like a child's toy. Thomas cannot help wanting to explore this strange world. As he reaches the castle courtyard, he realises that he is on a Sodor-sized railway with buildings to match. Next, Thomas hears a musical whistle, but cannot work out where it's coming from. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake and a gigantic foot lands right in front of Thomas who looks up to see a giant towering over him. Thomas then sees a gold steam engine and realises that she is trying to get his attention. Before he can move, the giant picks up the gold engine and puts her down on another track. The giant starts pushing the golden engine back and forth, as if he was playing with a toy.
A horn blasts nearby and Thomas looks up to see a giant-sized Diesel 10. The giant puts down the golden engine and walks over to the huge diesel. Thomas takes this chance to speak to the golden engine. It turns out that the golden engine was taken from her home to be the giant's favourite toy. The golden engine is magical and runs on golden coal. Thomas wants to help the golden engine, but does not know where her home is, so he offers to take her back to Sodor. The gold engine thinks Sodor sounds wonderful and agrees to go with him.
As the two engines try to escape the castle courtyard, Thomas runs out of coal. The golden engine offers some of her golden coal and this makes Thomas puff quicker than ever. The giant notices the engines trying to escape and he, along with giant Diesel 10, give chase. Thomas and the gold engine barrel down the beanstalk and arrive on Sodor. As they look up the beanstalk, the pair of engines are surprised to see the giant coming down after them. Thomas backs up and races into the beanstalk. He spots James and Percy nearby and calls to them for help. Together, everyone runs into the beanstalk until it looks like it is about to fall down.
With a thud, Thomas opens his eyes and is being tugged upright. James and Percy are still there, but the golden engine is gone. Thomas asks about the beanstalk, but James and Percy do not know what he is talking about. Thomas realises it must be a dream. Then, Thomas' driver finds a single piece of golden coal in Thomas' bunker. When queried about it, Thomas does not know what to say.
Characters[]
- Thomas
- James
- Percy
- Golden Steam Engine
- Diesel 10
- The Giant
- Winston (cameo)
- Judy and Jerome (cameos)
- Sir Topham Hatt (cameo)
- Lady Hatt (cameo)
- Stephen Hatt (cameo)
- Mr. Percival (cameo)
- The Bird Watcher (cameo)
- The Teacher (cameo)
- Gordon (cover only)
Trivia[]
- This book is based on the British fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Mark Moraghan as Mr. Evans read the story in a Storytime with Mr. Evans segment.
Goofs[]
- Thomas' coal bunker is referred to as a hopper throughout this story.
- In one illustration, the Golden Steam Engine is missing her eyelashes.