Chickens to School

***Chickens To School*** is the seventeenth episode of the eighth series.

## Plot

One summer night, Diesel was busy taking coal trucks to the Coaling Plant and was very tired by the time he arrived back at Tidmouth Sheds in the morning. Diesel wished that he had some assistance with the coal delivery, but Diesel 10 tells Diesel that a Really Useful Engine didn’t need help. Just then, the Fat Controller arrived as he requires an engine to carry out three jobs. Diesel decided to carry out the three jobs, despite being tired. His three jobs were to take chickens to the market, sheep to the farm and the children to school. Diesel 10 remarked that three jobs was too much for Diesel and he would need assistance. But Diesel tells Diesel 10 that small diesels didn’t need help at all.

So Diesel set off with two coaches and two vans. He collected the chickens from the farm, the sheep from the valley and the children from the station. Diesel carried on with his journey up and over Diesel 10's Hill and through Class 40's Tunnel. Throughout the journey, he reminds himself where he was going. However, the tiredness started getting the better of him and he got confused.

At the station where the market was being held, Diesel tells the lorry drivers to unload the sheep, instead of the chickens. Then Daisy pulled up and saw Thomas looking tired. She offered to help, but Diesel turns down her offer, though he was very sleepy. After the market, Diesel went to Farmer McColl's farm and tells the children it was their stop. Finally at the school, Diesel delivered the chickens, much to the confusion of the school teachers.

Diesel headed off for home, but not before the Fat Controller received phone calls about the sheep making a mess at the market, the children getting muddy at the farm and the chickens messing up the classrooms. The Fat Controller tells Diesel what happened and that he needed to put everything right, but this time with help. Diesel then tells the Fat Controller what Diesel 10 had said earlier - a Really Useful Engine never needed any help. BoCo remarks that he was always helping Diesel 10 up the hill, which made Diesel 10 blush with embarrassment.

Diesel set off with Dennis and BoCo helping him. BoCo took the chickens from the school to the market, Dennis took the sheep from the market to the farm, and Diesel collected the children from the farm to the school. Diesel then apologized to the children for bringing them to the wrong place, but they reassured him that they were learning about the farm, after having seen all of the animals. That night, Diesel finally got some much needed sleep in Tidmouth Sheds, and had good dreams about sheep, children, and chickens.

## Characters

* Diesel
* BoCo
* Diesel 10
* Daisy
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Class 40 (*does not speak*)
* Dennis (*does not speak*)
* Diesel 199 (*cameo*)
* Stephen Hatt (*cameo*)
* Farmer Trotter (*cameo*)
* Farmer Collett (*cameo*)
* The Lighthouse Keeper (*cameo*)
* Mr. Jolly (*factory logo* *cameo*)
* The Captain (*cameo*)
* Farmer McColl (*mentioned*)

## Characters

* This episode has a similarly to the twenty-fourth episode from the eighth series of *Thomas & Friends* with the same name.