BOBTAIL CHARLIE'S NEW JOB

A Story by Debra McArthur

Illustrated by John R. McArthur

This is a story about trains. To learn more about trains like Charlie, click here.

This is a story about the circus, too. To learn more about circuses, click here.

Everyone loved the circus, but no one loved it more than Charlie himself. Charlie loved everything about the circus. He loved the animals that rode in his livestock cars: the dancing bears, the juggling seals, the exotic camels and zebras, the prancing horses, the ferocious lions and tigers, the chattering monkeys, and the giant lumbering elephants.

He loved the circus people who rode in his passenger cars, too: the clever jugglers, the nimble trapeze artists and tightrope walkers, the beautiful bareback riders, the amazing sword swallowers, and of course, the funny clowns.

The little engine thought that he had the most important job in the whole world, because without him the show could not travel from town to town making people happy.

Charlie had pulled the circus train for as long as he could remember. At first there had been only a few cars to pull, but little by little the circus had grown until now there were so many cars that the little bobtail engine could hardly get up the hills. It was hard work, but he never complained. One year, just as the circus was ready to leave its winter home, Charlie heard the ringmaster talking to the circus owner.

"We have five new acts this year!" the ringmaster boasted. "We even have a cannon that will shoot a man into a net. It'll be a great year for the circus, but it will take three more train cars to carry the new equipment."

"I don't think Charlie can do it," the circus owner said. "Our little bobtail could never pull all those cars. I have decided to buy a bigger engine to pull the circus train."

Charlie could hardly believe it! What would become of him? Would he have to pull a coal train or a freight train? Would they retire him to the engine yard as a switcher? He seemed doomed for a life without the circus that he loved.

The circus owner put an advertisement in the newspaper to sell Charlie. A man from the coal company came to look at Charlie. He said, "This engine is too small to pull a coal train. I can't use him." That made Charlie happy. Toiling with heavy cars of coal would seem very dull after the life he'd had with the circus.

The man from the railroad yard said, "This engine is too old. I can't use him to switch the engines in the yard. He would wear out the first year." Charlie began to feel worried. Maybe no one would buy him. Would he be left to rust on a siding?

Finally, another man came to look at the engine. He said, "Well, he is small, but I don't need a big engine. I have only a few cars to be pulled. He is old, but with some work and a new paint job, I know he will be just fine. I'll take him!"

Charlie was relieved to know he would work again, but he wondered what his new job would be. The man never said why he needed an engine.

The next day Charlie was on his way to his new home in the city. They guided him from track to track through many junctions in the city until at last he made one more switch onto a track in a part of town he'd never seen. It was nearly dark and Charlie did not know where he was. That night he dreamed of the circus, and when he awoke he almost thought he had heard a lion roar.

Some nice people began working on Charlie. They cleaned the rust from his boiler and put on a layer of gray primer to protect him. Then they painted him a beautiful, shiny black. They even polished his tarnished brass bell! He felt young again and full of steam! Still, he missed the circus. Almost every night he dreamed he heard chattering monkeys or trumpeting elephants. He was especially sorry he would never again see the happy faces of the children who used to run along the track.

Finally the work was all done and Charlie was ready to take his first run on the new track. Imagine his surprise when he rounded the first curve and saw zebras running along the fence by the track! A little further on, he passed some monkeys playing in trees. Next, he found some seals swimming in a pool, and even some lions and tigers basking in the sun. And around the last curve he saw elephants roaming in a grassy field! He was in a zoo!

Charlie's new job was to carry the boys and girls all around the zoo! He tooted his whistle when he neared the crossings and rang his bell as he approached his own little station. The children smiled and waved when they saw him coming, just as they had when he pulled the circus train. They laughed when they heard him proudly chug, "Charlie's comin', Charlie's comin'!"

Charlie never missed the circus anymore because he knew he was loved more than ever.

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