Once upon a time there was a little boy called Gregory who had been given a little, blue, pull along train for his third birthday.

He had a lot of other toys too; a clackety clacker, which is a noisy toy, a shape cart with blocks, a pull along snail, and a plane with a French pilot named Pierré, but his favourite was the little blue train. He loved his train, and pulled it along with him wherever he went.

The little blue train had an engine with a big black funnel, a driver, and a passenger carriage with three passengers.

Early one morning Gregory was running very fast, pulling his train along, calling "woo woo", to sound like a train's whistle, when he tripped, and let go of the train's rope. The little blue train kept going and going, faster and faster.

It went all the way down Gregory's street, across four sets of traffic lights, and out of town and into the country.

"Help!" cried the three passengers, hanging on to the side of the carriage.

"Don't worry," said the engine driver, "I can drive this train. I don't need someone to pull me along all the time."

"Where are we going?" said the woman passenger at the front of the carriage.

"I don't know," said the driver, "but it's got to be more exciting than just going up and down the footpath in front of Gregory's house."

The little blue train was still going fast and had by now gone a long way out into the country.

Back at Gregory's house Gregory was very upset that his train had gone and he was was crying. His mother tried to make him feel better with some of his favourite biscuits, but Gregory was too sad to eat.

Pierré the pilot was in Gregory's room and heard Gregory crying and listened to him tell his mother about what had happened.

"Cheer up Gregory," said Pierré, "I will find your train for you."

So Pierré started up his propeller, taxied down the chest of drawers and flew out the bedroom window.

Soon Pierré was away from the town and out into the country. He was following the road that led to the sea. The countryside looked wonderful from up in the air and Pierré nearly forgot why he was flying his plane so far from home.

He saw people working on their farms, and he saw all the farm animals, horses, cows, sheep and dogs, but no little blue train.

He decided to land and ask someone if he had seen a runaway train go past. He landed carefully in the paddock and went across to a big brown horse.

"Hello," he said, "have you seen a little blue train with an engine driver and three passengers go past?"

"Why yes, I have," said the horse pointing down the road, "not long ago either. If you hurry you can catch them before they reach the sea."

"Thank you," said Pierré, running back to his plane.

Pierré was quickly back in the air again and heading in the direction the horse had pointed.

Meanwhile, the engine driver was having a great time, driving the train up and down hills and around corners, but the passengers were very frightened.

"Help!" the passengers kept crying, but no one heard them.

The driver knew they were heading for the sea, because this is where he and Gregory's other toys had been made. In a toy workshop, in a house that is next to the beach, and it is where Harriet and Mickey live.

He knew they would have to stop soon or they would end up in the water. He had been having such a good time driving up and down all the hills he suddenly realised he didn't know how to stop the train.

"Help!" cried the engine driver and the passengers together.

Pierré was still flying fast and following the road, when all of a sudden he saw the little blue train ahead. It was almost at the beach and heading straight for the water. Pierré urged his plane to go faster and he went lower for a better look.

The train had just ran off the end of the road and gone down a winding bush path that led to the beach. The tide was out, maybe Pierré could reach them before they went into the water.

He flew across the winding bush path and dropped down even lower. He saw his two good friends Harriet and Mickey trying to catch the little blue train in their beach buggy. But Pierré was going faster than the buggy.

The little blue train was right in front of him; it was nearly in the water. Pierré leaned out of the plane and grabbed the train's pull along rope and hung on to it.

The engine driver and the passengers cheered. "Hooray, hooray for Pierré!"

Pierré, towing the little blue train from his plane, turned around to head back to town and Gregory.

As he flew low over the beach he saw Harriet and Mickey waving to him.

"Hooray for Pierré!" they were shouting, as they drove their buggy back up the winding bush path.

I think Gregory will be very happy to get his little blue train back. And I think Pierré the pilot might also be his favourite toy now, don't you?