THE BLUE BUS TALES

A New Tale for Christmas 1999

This is a new story, published here for free, for your children to enjoy across the holiday.

CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE BUS DEPOT

It was Christmas Day in the bus depot, the one day of the year, when buses' hearts were full of joy, their drivers full of beer.

Tammy, the little bus with nothing upstairs, had just woken up, and still felt very sleepy. Even so, she rang her bell, very loud, to waken all the other buses up, just like she did all the other days of the year.

Can you believe it, boys and girls - Tammy had forgotten that it was Christmas Day,
and on this one special day of the year, none of the buses did any work. No, none at all.


Tammy’s bell was very loud, and was enough to waken the Sleeping Beauty, wherever she was sleeping.

Ding-Ding, ding-ding, dingding-ding-a-ling-a-ling!! went Tammy’s Bell, and when not one single bus stirred or even made a sound, she sounded it again.

LOUDER
Ding-Ding, ding-ding, dingding-ding-a-ling-a-ling ding-ding, ding-ding, dingding-ding-a-ling-a-ling!!!! That got a result.

“Cor, luvaduck, Tammy!!” shouted all the other buses, “what the Dickens do you think you’re playing at? Waking us at this unearthly hour. And on Christmas Day too!”

“Oh, oh, er, sorry,” Tammy, the little bus with nothing upstairs replied very meekly, “I totally forgot it was Christmas, I really did.”

Tammy did sound very sorry to have annoyed them all, but truthfully, she was a little annoyed that even on this one day of the year, she would not be leaving the depot to pick up all her passengers.

For Tammy did so enjoy picking up passengers and taking them to just wherever they wanted to go. She enjoyed picking up boys and girls best, because they always wanted to go to the seaside. And Tammy loved the seaside best of all.

“But, but, why is Christmas Day a special day?” Tammy asked all the other buses.

But there was no answer, or only a low murmering, for most of the other buses in the depot had gone back to sleep.

Tammy tried again.

“But why? Why is it a special day, when I can’t go out and pick up all my passengers?”

It wasn’t a special day to Tammy, at least not one that she could enjoy. A day without passengers was a day bereft of any joy or pleasure at all.

Hartley, the brand-new double-decker who thinks he knows everything, had been listening, and he thought he had the answer.

“Well, Tammy, it’s because there are no passengers. Not today. It’s Christmas.”

“Yes, I know that,” said Tammy, getting a little annoyed as she always did when Hartley tried to sound as if he had all the answers. “But why are there no passengers?”

“Because it’s Christmas,” replied Hartley. “Because all our passengers have a holiday. They don’t go to work. They don’t go to school. They don’t go anywhere. They just don’t go. I suppose it’s to give us a rest,” Hartley explained some more.

Arthur, the wise old bus who did know a lot of answers, had been listening quietly to all this. He gave his opinion.

“What a load of old poppycock and dum-twaddle!” he snorted. “I’ve never heard such a load of old rubbish in my life!”

“Oh, Good Morning Arthur,” Tammy greeted him. “I see you are awake, anyway. And why is it a load of old poppywhatsit and uno-twaddle?” she asked.

“Because,” Arthur began, very slowly and patiently, for he was a very patient bus as well as a wise one, “because it has nothing to do with there being no passengers. Not everyone has cars, you know. There are plenty of passengers out there for us, if we wanted them.”

“Oh, I see,” said Tammy, the little bus with nothing upstairs, “well, I want them. So why can’t I go and find some? Tell me that!”

“Well, if you must know,” Arthur replied gravely and in his most serious voice, “it’s because of your driver.”

“My driver!” exclaimed Tammy, a little puzzled. “What’s wrong with my driver? Why can’t he take me out?”

“Because he was at the Bus Depot Ball last night,” replied Arthur, who seemed to know all about these things.

“And what difference does THAT make?” asked Tammy.

“A lot of difference. It means he’s not fit to take you out,” Arthur said, in a very dissaproving way.

“What do you mean, NOT FIT? Is he poorly?”

“No, not poorly,” said Arthur, “just, well, just . . . . oh, if you must know, he’s drunk!”

“Drunk!” shouted Tammy. “How do you mean, drunk?”

“What I said. Drunk,” replied Arthur. “They’re all drunk. Everyone. All our drivers are drunk. Legless. Totally ratted!”

It was obvious that Arthur was very annoyed that all the drivers were drunk, and not fit to take any of the buses out.

“They are all so drunk,” Arthur went on, “that they couldn’t even find the cab of a bus if their lives depended upon it, let alone climb into one. So forget it, Tammy, we’re not going anywhere today. Go back to sleep!”

“Huh.” Tammy said, in some disgust. “All your drivers may be drunk, but mine is most certainly not.”

“How do you know that?” asked all the buses in the depot, who by now were all wide awake and had been listening with interest to Arthur’s explanation.

“Because I know that my driver is, what do they call it - totallyteasomethingorother . . . Oh, I don’t know.”

“Tea-total?” asked Arthur.

“That’s it - tea-total,” shouted Tammy.

“What does that mean?” asked Hartley, the brand-new double-decker who thinks he knows everything.

“It means that MY driver drinks only tea, and drinks it, well, totally, which means I think he rather enjoys it.”

“Are you sure, Tammy,” asked Towbar Charlie, the depot tow truck who would like to tow buses three at a time, who was also now wide awake.

“Oh yes, I’m sure,” said Tammy, “and to prove it, here he comes now, to start my engine and take me out onto the road, to find some passengers.”

And so he did, boys and girls. Tammy’s little driver, who lives right next door to the depot so that he is never late for work, arrived and switched on all the depot lights. He filled Tammy’s radiator with clean water, for mashing tea with later of course, and he started her engine.

Without any further ado, he drove Tammy out of the depot, into the dark frosty Christmas morning, and went towards the big town to look for some passengers to pick up and take anywhere, whether they wanted to go or not.

“Oh, I forgot about that, about Tammy’s driver,” said Arthur after Tammy had gone, “of course, her driver wouldn’t go to the Bus Depot Ball.”

“Why’s that?” asked Hartley.

“Because he can’t dance,” replied Arthur, “never could. Not with legs like that. Couldn’t stop a pig in a passage!”