Big Harbour Inspection

Big Harbour Inspection:

It was a sunny day in the Big Harbour. Foduck was looking some bumpers at the ship docks, where the ships that arrive in the Big Harbour are docked. He had just finished inspecting the dock and had gone to look another when George came with a container ship. "Please move Foduck," said George. Foduck moved out of the way to let George dock the container ship. "Is your engine working well?" asked Foduck. "Yes," said George, confused. "Why?" "Just wondering," said Fodock as he slowly left.

That afternoon Theodore was taking Shelburne to the construction site on the other side of the harbor, when Foduck came up. "Are your tow ropes old?" he asked. "My tow ropes are new," said Theodore kindly. "I got them two weeks ago." Then Foduck turned to Shelburne. "Is your hook loose?" he asked. "It's fine," said Shelburne.

That night the other tugs were waiting for Foduck. At last he arrived. "Why have you been asking us questions?" asked Emily. "Well," sighed Foduck, "in a few days the Harbour Master is going to be inspecting the Big Harbour, and I want everything to be perfect." Then they went on with "Story-telling TIme".

The next day Foduck was inspecting Lilly, the lighthouse. "Is your horn alright?" he asked. "It's in ship-shape," said Lilly kindly. Hank passed by with Barrington barrage with supplies for the Repair Dock. After Foduck had finished with Lilly he raced after Hank. Hank hadn't gone too far when he caught up with him. "How's your whistle?" said Foduck. "It's working fine," said Hank cheerfully. With that Foduck went off to speak with Constance.

Later that day a ship named Tara was coming into the Big Harbour. She came to Bedford. She lowered her anchor to wait for a tugboat to bring her in. Just as Theodore came up trouble began. With a loud snap her anchor broke. "Hurry up," she exclaimed, "my anchor's broken." Theodore buttoned on, but since Tara had a big load of containers he couldn't stop her. "Help!" cried Theodore. And he blew his emergency whistle. Emily came racing towards them, but she was too late. With a loud crash Tara had crashed into the shore.

Emily and Theodore took her to Clayton to get her unloaded first, then they took her to the Repair Dock. Foduck was there delivering the last of the new parts when he saw them. "What happened?" he asked. "My anchor broke," Tara explained. "But Theodore and Emily were brave and did their best to stop me." Soon she had been lifted out of the water and sat on the dry-dock. As the tugs were leaving Theodroe could see that Foduck looked upset. He went to see him.

"What's the matter?" he asked kindly. "I wanted no accidents to happen before the inspection," said Foduck sadly, "now the Harbour Master will think that I'm not a good safety tug." "Foduck," said Theodore in a gentle voice, "you can't be perfect, no matter how hard you try. Mistakes will be made, but that doesn't mean that you're not a good safety tug." Then Theodore went back to work.

Foduck floated there for a moment, thinking about what Theodore had said. He realized exactly what to do.

At last the big day arrived. Foduck went to collect the Harbour Master. He was waiting on his dock by his office, with his clipboard ready. "Hello Foduck," he said cheerfully, "I'm ready to inspect the harbor."

Foduck took him round the Big Harbour. THe Harbour Master took notes and checked boxes on his check-list. At the end of the inspection, when the Harbour Master stepped onto his dock near his office, Foduck asked him about the inspection. "Everything is in ship-shape," he said cheerfully, "and it's thanks to you." Then he walked into his office. Foduck went back to his dock, smiling. "It's alright o make mistakes," he whispered to himself as he returned to his dock.