Transcript/A New Job For Isobella

**Narrator:** It was the morning after a rain storm had hit the island in the night. Miss Jenny’s machines were all very tired when they woke up. The loud wind and heavy rain made it difficult to sleep. Soon, Miss Jenny arrived at the sheds with an urgent job.

**Miss Jenny:** “There has been a series of rockslides over at the Clay Pits. The rain made many of the cliffs unstable and most of them had collapsed during the night. So then, Bill and Ben will be here in a minute to take Oliver and Jack there. Nelson will transport Byron and Ned to the accident site and Max and Monty will drive to the Clay Pits themselves.”

**The Pack:** “Yes, Miss Jenny.”

**Narrator:** The Pack hadn’t had a construction job for a long while now. Most of them were eager to start working again, especially Isobella.

**Isobella:** “*Ooh!* If I spend another day in this shed, doing nothing, I’m going to lose it! I haven’t had a proper job in ages!”

**Narrator:** Miss Jenny could see the little lorry was unhappy.

**Miss Jenny:** “Alright, Isobella. If you want a job so badly, I’ll kindly oblige. The farmer’s lorry on Edward’s branch line has broken down and has been sent away for repairs. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind transporting eggs and butter to the town.”

**Isobella:** “Well… I'll do my best, Miss.”

**Narrator:** Soon, Bill and Ben arrived to collect Jack and Oliver.

**Bill:** “All this extra work, shifting all this clay.”

**Ben:** “It’s enough to make the fittest engine ache.”

**Isobella:** “You two are lucky that you have work at all. It’ll be nice to stretch my wheels. I just hope all the milk and eggs won’t stain my paintwork too much."

**Bill:** “Be careful not to stick on the level crossing.”

**Ben:** “The farmer’s old lorry did so once, and Thomas got showered in eggs because of it.”

**Bill:** “We mistook him for a different engine, he was so messy.”

**Ben:** “If your engine is hot enough, those eggs stick fast and will be very hard to clean off.”

**Narrator:** The twins' words shocked Isobella. Now, she wanted more than ever to be careful. As she rolled away to the farm with her trailer, hot, sticky eggs was all she could think about. The farmer had a lot of goods waiting to be delivered. He stacked the egg racks onto Isobella’s flat end and loaded the butter and milk churns on her trailer. The churns were heavy, so it made her go slowly, but at least she would be more careful at this speed. But, it was at the level crossing where the trouble began. The strong winds from the previous night had blown down a tree close to the farm and it landed on the fence containing the farmer’s cows. As Isobella made her way to the crossing, she could see Nia there, trapped behind a whole herd.

**Isobella:** “What on earth?! How did this happen?”

**Nia:** “I don’t know, but these cows are very stubborn today. I’ve tried singing to them like I do with elephants, but they won’t budge.”

**Isobella:** “Well I can’t wait here all day, I’ve got deliveries to make.”

**Nia:** “Well, if all else fails… (whistles) There we go. I must remember: sing to elephants, whistle to cows.”

**Isobella:** “Well it’s alright for you, but what about me?”

**Narrator:** She slowly nudged her way through the herd.

**Isobella:** “*Ooh!* You creatures have no consideration for busy lorries like me!”

**Narrator:** One of the cows came up so close to her, that it accidentally pushed the coupling link off her trailer. At least, she could make it past her obstacle now.

**Isobella:** “Phew! Finally. I thought I’d never make it through.”

**Narrator:** But she was now in such a hurry to make up for lost time, she didn’t notice her trailer was left behind, in the middle of the crossing. When she reached the first grocery shop in Wellsworth, she tooted her horn and sighed with relief. But, when the shopkeeper came to unload his lot of eggs, he was surprised.

**Shopkeeper:** “Where’s the milk and butter I ordered? They aren’t here.”

**Isobella:** “What?! But, but, where have they gone?!”

**Narrator:** Meanwhile, at the Clay Pits, Jack, Oliver and Ned were hard at work loading fallen clay into Max, Monty and Bill and Ben’s trucks. The twins were still complaining about their work as they huffed away to Wellsworth. The level crossing with Isobella’s abandoned trailer was on Bill and Ben’s line. The twins were still grumbling to themselves, that Bill didn’t see the trailer until he rounded the bend. He gasped.

**Bill:** “Stop Ben! STOP!”

**Narrator:** The heavy clay trucks made them slide across the wet rails and Bill crashed into the trailer. The milk churns flew high into the air and milk showered down all over Bill and Ben. When they opened their eyes, they were in a terrible mess.

**Bill:** “Oh, no! Look at us!”

**Ben:** “Wet and white all over!”

**Narrator:** Isobella was at Wellsworth Yards. She was asking Nia if she knew where her trailer had got to, when they both saw Bill and Ben puff in with the clay. Or at least, they thought they were Bill and Ben.

**Isobella:** “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Two new tank engines?"

**Narrator:** She winked at Nia. She soon got the idea and joined in.

**Nia:** “Maybe Bill and Ben had been so naughty lately, that the Fat Controller replaced them with these two.”

**Bill and Ben:** “We are Bill and Ben! We just got covered in milk, that’s all.”

**Nia:** “Milk? That explains everything. I would have thought you two were ghosts.”

**Isobella:** “Wait a minute. You didn’t crash into a trailer did you?”

**Bill:** “Well, we couldn’t see it in time, so… maybe?”

**Isobella:** “*Ooh!* I hope you two haven’t damaged it or I will push you off the rails!”

**Nia:** “If I were you, I would head over to the washdown, before Edward sees you. Who knows what he will say if he sees you like this.”

**Narrator:** The twins wheeshed with embarrassment and puffed away to be cleaned, leaving Nia with a bright grin on her face.