Rosie Comes to Lunch

Terrence the Tractor was enjoying his working in the field, bluebirds were singing in the maple trees and green apples were growing on them, it was a perfect morning.

“Hello there, Terrence,” said Rosie, you look as bright and cheerful as my lavender colored paint.”

“Oh I do, Rosie…….” replied Terrence.

“What’s that sound?” asked Rosie.

“It’s the bees, Rosie,” replied Terrence. “They’re all in those boxy things called beehives, I’m taking them to the big station, the vicar says his bees make good orange blossom honey to put on anything else and is giving some of them to his close friends.”

Just then, Fred trundled into the scenery.

“Take care, you 2, don’t get the bees fed up with you, they might sting you.”

“Rosie didn’t like being told what to do by a Freight Car, and she buzzed away.”

“Goodbye, Terrance!” called Fred. And he set off to see Oliver at the junction.

Bill and Ben, the little twin train engines were busy arranging Freight Cars. Then they trundled off when they saw Fred.

“I remember the 1st time I met those dudes,” laughed Fred. “They nearly made my eyes pop out, but the inspector soon put a stop to their fun and games.”

“The inspector is the only 1 who can keep Bill and Ben in order,” chuckled Oliver. “I sometimes call them ‘the bees’.”

 “What a good name for those dudes,” said Fred. “They’re terrors when they begin buzzing around.”

Rosie trundled inside.

“What’s that, Oliver? are you terrified of bees?” they’re only insects after all,” “So don’t let that buzz box man tell you anything different about them.”

“His name is Fred and he didn’t, we…………..”

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“I wouldn’t care if a lot of them were flying around, I would just blow my smoke stack and make them go away.”

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“Bye, bye, bees!” retorted Oliver.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">The very next day, Rosie was at the train station to collect her passengers. The passengers were very excited and they got on board.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">The hallway was very crowded and Rosie’s driver was in such a hurry.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“Watch your backs!” she exclaimed to them.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">Then there was a lot of trouble.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">The beehive fell off and broke open.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">The station cleared apart like magic dust.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">Rosie heard a familiar buzzing sound.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">The bees were too cold to be fed up with her, so they buzzed around Rosie’s fireman hoping that he would mend their beehive, but he didn’t understand them, neither did her driver.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> So the bees turned themselves over to Rosie.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> Her boiler was nice and warm.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“Go away, go away!” hissed Rosie.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">1 bee had burnt his right foot.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">The bee thought Rosie had burnt it on purpose.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">So it stung Rosie right on her nose.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“AIEEEEEEEEEEE!” whistled Rosie. She had quite enough. So had her driver and fireman.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">They didn’t know ‘til too late that they had left their coaches behind. They tried everything to get rid of the bees.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">1st they spun Rosie around on the turntable, but that didn’t work. They tried washing them off, but the bees were still hanging harder on Rosie’s warm boiler.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">Then they tried blowing them off by going through a very long tunnel, but still, the bees wouldn’t go away.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“It’s no good, Rosie,” said her driver. “We’ll just need to go back to the field and get another beehive.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">Rosie’s reply was drowned out by the sounds of buzzing. The vicar was waiting excitingly for Rosie, and when she arrived, the bees went straight to their new home in the beehive.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“Come on, Rosie,” said her driver. “What you need now is a good wash down.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">Later that evening, Rosie was resting in the train engine shed when the vicar came to see her.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">“Thanks for saving my bees, Rosie, it’s too bad it’s not Christmas Eve, then we can call you ‘Rosie the Red-Nosed Engine’.”

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">Everybody laughed in unison, especially Rosie, but instead, they decided to call Rosie ‘The Bees Wax’, which meant they thought she was more braver than before.

<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto">End of Rosie’s side of the story sequence………….