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This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the German VHS, the Buzz Book or the magazine story.
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“Sorry I'm late!"
"Look what's crawled out of the hay!"
"What's wrong?"
"Talk about hairy caterpillars! It's worth being late to have seen you.”
― Thomas teasing Percy

Woolly Bear is the twenty-fifth episode of the second series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book Tramway Engines.

Plot

In summer, work crews cut the long grass that has been growing beside the line, raking it into heaps to dry in the sun. After it dries, Percy brings empty trucks, which the workmen load up with this hay. Percy, then, takes the loaded trucks to the station, where Toby collects them and takes them to farmers in the hills so that they can feed their animals in the winter.

One day, Percy arrives at the station and starts to tease Thomas for thinking he was a ghost. Thomas retorts that Percy is a "green caterpillar with red stripes", which makes Percy angry. Thomas, then, reminds Percy that he has been late at the station every afternoon throughout the week. Percy tells Thomas that the extra work of collecting the hay is making him late but Thomas is not interested in excuses. Fuming, Percy leaves to collect some hay to take to the harbour.

Percy grumbles to himself that he is only ever late by a few minutes. Nevertheless, he and his driver decide to head to the station early after dropping off the trucks. However, there is trouble; a loose crate of black treacle hanging over Percy drops from a crane and splatters all over him. Harbour workmen try to clean Percy but he is still very sticky when he leaves.

Soon, Percy comes to the hill where the hay has been laying but, by now, strong winds are blowing the hay onto the track. The line climbs here, so Percy's driver advises him to take a run at it but his wheels keep slipping on the hay and he must wait for the line to be cleared. While Percy waits, the wind blows some hay onto him and it clings to his still sticky boiler.

At the station, Thomas waits impatiently for Percy, who is ten minutes late. Suddenly, all the passengers start laughing when Percy arrives; his boiler has been almost completely covered by hay. He apologises for his late arrival but Thomas laughs, saying Percy has crawled out of the hay. Percy does not know what Thomas is talking about but Thomas tells him that seeing him like a hairy caterpillar is worth being late.

Percy goes back to the sheds, where his driver shows him what he looks like in a mirror. Now knowing why everyone was laughing at him, Percy asks to be cleaned before Toby arrives. However, Thomas has already told Toby everything.

When Toby and Thomas arrive, Percy is still a long way from being cleaned. The two make jokes about woolly bear caterpillars and other creatures that crawl about in hay. Percy does not find these jokes very funny at all.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • Woolly bear caterpillars are real animals, though they are not particularly known to be green with red stripes. After undergoing metamorphosis, they become butterflies known as tiger moths.
  • Stock footage from Percy Runs Away is used.
  • Thomas calls Percy "a green caterpillar with red stripes" in this story. The line derives from a criticism Wilbert Awdry made towards C. Reginald Dalby's illustrations in the Railway Series book Percy the Small Engine.
  • Concept art shows that Terence was originally going to be seen in this episode.
  • Due to time constraints, this episode was cut out of both the Fox Family and Nick Jr. broadcasts of the Shining Time Station episode, Crackpot.
  • This episode marks the last of a few things:
    • The last appearances of the Naughty Boys.
    • Going by episode order, the last episode re-narrated by Ringo Starr for the US, as well as the last known episode narrated by Simcha Barbiro in Israel.
    • The last episode to have Percy's happy face without teeth as well as the last appearance of his confused one. From the third series, his confused face would gain different eyebrows to resemble an angry one.
  • Ringo Starr's US dub of this episode was broadcast on Shining Time Station but was never released on home video. However, the audio of his US narration appears on audio cassettes/CDs included with some releases of the Diesel's Devious Deed and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories Random House Pictureback book.
  • CEL Home Video did not release this episode, Edward's Exploit, Ghost Train nor Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree on any of their 1989 VHS releases in New Zealand. Instead, these four episodes later premiered on home video in New Zealand on Endeavour Entertainment's VHS release of The Deputation and Other Stories in 1992.
  • The JEI TV version of the Korean dub added subtitles to inform viewers what treacle is.
  • This episode was never released on home video in South Korea.

Goofs

  • Excluding in Tidmouth Station scenes, Percy's left (viewers' right) cylinder is loose.
  • In the Norwegian and Swedish re-dubs, the first few seconds of the music of the next episode are played at the beginning. Then the audio cuts off and switches over to the music from Woolly Bear. The German dub repeats several seconds of the opening music in an attempt to cover this same error.
  • At Tidmouth Yard and as Percy passes the Suddery Castle, he and Toby's train have SR 25 Ton Brake Vans. At the valley, their brake vans are replaced by BR 20s and Toby's train also gains an extra truck.
  • When Percy says, "Ugly, indeed I'm..." a small gap can be seen between his face and eyes.
  • When Percy says, "Green caterpillar, indeed!" Thomas' eyes are misaligned.
  • Percy's brake van disappears as he enters the harbour.
  • When the treacle lands on Percy:
    • His model moves slightly.
    • The studio lights can also be seen reflected on him.
    • The treacle completely covers only one half of Percy's face, yet when the workmen are trying to clean him up, his face is covered in treacle stains on both sides.
  • In the close-up of Percy's wheels slipping on the hay, a gear is seen behind one of them.
  • At Elsbridge:
    • The narrator says that Thomas was laughing when he saw Percy but Thomas looks confused.
    • Thomas' headlamp is also missing part of its bottom and tilted to the left.
    • Some of the figurines have sticky tac under their feet.
  • When Percy looks in the mirror, studio equipment is visible in the mirror and his eyes are also misaligned.
  • In the restored version, an alternate take of Thomas and Toby backing into the shed is used, as the latter stops slightly outside of the shed but, in the next scene, he is further in. The former has also moved further in both versions.
  • Towards the end of the episode, Toby's left eye (viewers' right) jitters a bit for a second and Thomas' face is also slightly crooked.

Quotes

Percy: [whistles as if he were a ghost] Wheeeeeeesh!
Narrator: Percy gave a ghostly whistle.
Percy: Don't be frightened, Thomas. It's only me!
Thomas: Your ugly fizz is enough to frighten everyone. You're like—
Percy: Ugly indeed! I'm—
Thomas: —a green caterpillar with red stripes. You crawl like one too.
Percy: I don't!
Thomas: Who's been late every afternoon this week?
Percy: It's the hay.
Thomas: I can't help that. Time's time and the Fat Controller relies on me to keep it. I can't if you crawl in the hay till all hours.
Percy: "Green caterpillar" indeed!

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese O urso de óleo
Chinese Mandarin 毛毛虫
Czech Chlupatý jako medvěd
Danish Percy som ulden bjørn
Dutch Pluizige beer
Finnish Karvaturri
French L'ours poliu
German Der Wollbär
Greek Ενα αστείο τρενάκι
Hungarian A szőrös hernyó
Italian Il millepiedi verde
Japanese けむしになったパーシー
Korean 곰돌이가 된 퍼시
Latin American Spanish Thomas se divierte
Norwegian Ulne bjørn
Polish Puchaty miś
Romanian Omida
Russian Мохнатый медведь
Serbian Dlakava gusenica
Slovenian Slamnato strašilo
Swedish Fågelskrämman
Turkish Oyuncak Ayı
Ukrainian Волохата гусінь
Welsh Siani Flewog

Merchandise

Home Video Releases

UK

UK DVD Boxset

WAL

US

CAN

  • Percy's Ghostly Trick and Other Thomas Stories (Direct-to Home-Video)

US/CAN DVD Packs

AUS

AUS DVD Packs

NZ

ZA

IND

MYS

PHL

ITA

FRA

ROM

ROM DVD Pack

NL

  • Wrong Road

GER

NOR

DK

SWE

SVN

SRP

GRC

GRC DVD Boxset

TUR

THA

JPN

JPN DVD Boxset

CHN

HK

Episode

References



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