Percy’s Predicament

**Percy’s Predicament** is the twenty-third episode of the second season and the 53rd episode overall. It is based on the story of the same name from the sixteenth Railway Series book, Branch Line Engines.

## Plot

Daisy's time on the Island of Sodor is going well for her, but badly for everyone else. Not only is she frightened of bulls and cows, she remains lazy, bad-tempered and stubborn, refusing to do jobs she does not want to do.

Percy grumpily shunts trucks one day, as Toby pulls in noticing that Daisy has once again refused to take the milk tanker. This ends up forcing Percy to make a special trip with it after his usual work is done. Wanting to help, Toby offers to take the milk if Percy fetches his trucks from the quarry in return. Their crews agree to this and Percy sets off.

Percy goes to the quarry to fetch the trucks and starts enjoying himself by ordering the trucks about. The trucks do not take kindly to another engine entering the quarry and giving them orders, so they decide to pay Percy out. Once the trucks are arranged and coupled behind Percy, they lure him into a false sense of security by following him so quietly that he thinks they are under control. When Percy sees a sign ordering trains to pin down their brakes, he whistles to the guard to apply the brakes, only for the trucks to make their move and push him along down the line, leaving Percy whistling frantically for help. The signalman at the level crossing rushes out to warn traffic with his red flag, but is too late to switch Percy to the runaway siding. This leads to Percy swerving into the goods yard and crashing into a brake van, destroying it and perching himself on top of the remains of a truck. His driver and fireman have managed to jump clear, but Percy is left stranded.

The next day, Toby and Daisy arrive to help clear up the mess. The Fat Director arrives too and is cross as he speaks to Percy; the branch line will now have to be run with just Toby and a diesel, putting them in an awkward predicament. Percy, very much stuck in his own predicament, understands fully what he means and feels sorry. The Fat Director then tells Percy that he is going to be left where he is until everything else is cleared up, hoping that the wait will teach him to be more careful with trucks in the future. The Fat Director then turns to Daisy and tells her off for her laziness, declaring that his engines work hard, while he sends lazy ones like her away. Daisy is left feeling ashamed of herself, but the Fat Director decides to give her another chance, given how hard she worked after Percy's accident. Daisy is grateful and promises to work hard with Toby's help. Knowing Toby has a lot of experience with running a branch line, the Fat Director is satisfied.

The next day, Thomas returns from the works fully mended and feeling much better. Being happily reunited with Annie and Clarabel, he takes them for a run, while Percy is sent to the works to be repaired. All the engines are now friends and Daisy learns a lot from Toby, leading her to become a Really Useful Engine. She even manages to shoo a stray cow off the line unassisted.

## Characters

* Percy
* Toby
* Daisy
* Troublesome Trucks
* The Fat Director
* Thomas *(does not speak)*
* Annie and Clarabel *(do not speak)*
* Henrietta *(does not speak)*

## Locations

* New Harbour Bridges
* Elsbridge
	+ Elsbridge Crossing
	+ Elsbridge Yard
		- The Carriage Shed
		- Elsbridge Engine Sheds
* Ffarquhar Quarry
* The Quarry Tramroad

## Trivia

* This episode was based on an incident on page 53 of Model Railway News from 1958, which happened at Swanley Junction on the 13th of April 1876, to London, Chatham & Dover Railway's 123, Phyllis.
* This episode marks the last of two things for Daisy:
	+ Her last speaking role until Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure.
	+ Her last episode as a main character, leading role, and speaking role in an episode until the fourteenth season episode, The Way She Does It.