The Little Engine That Could: The Complete, Original Edition

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Have you ever heard the phrase “When in Rome, do as the Romans do?” Has anyone ever said that what was right for you wasn’t right for them? We live in a world where people have a wide multitude of opinions, political, social, and moral. What makes them have these opinions, and are they always entitled to them? In The Little Engine That Could, a train carrying toys and treats for good boys and girls breaks down. Three train engines decide to not help, each for their own reasons. Finally, a little blue engine comes along and helps. This story is a helpful reminder of the importance of perspective and optimism. A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill. "I can't; that is too much a pull for me", said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. In desperation, the train asked the little switch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. "I think I can", puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can". The tale with its easy-to-grasp moral has become a classic children's story and was adapted in January 1991 as a 30-minute animated film [6] produced in the United Kingdom and co-financed in the United Kingdom and the United States. The film named the famous little engine Tillie and expanded the narrative into a larger story of self-discovery. I Think I Can Rail Tour Schedule". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012 . Retrieved April 18, 2018.

a b c Cullinan, Bernice E., and Diane Goetz Person. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Continuum International Publishing Group, August 1, 2003. p. 634. In the 1941 Disney film Dumbo (as well as the Disneyland theme park ride), when Casey Jr. the circus train puffs up a hill, he chants, "I think I can!" and "I thought I could!" when going down the hill. [27] In 1954, Platt & Munk published another version of The Little Engine That Could, with slightly revised language and new, more colorful illustrations by George and Doris Hauman. [5] Although there had been many previous editions of this classic story, "it was the work of George and Doris Hauman that earned The Little Engine the title of being worthy to sit on the same shelf as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ". [5] A 1976 reworking that featured art by Ruth Sanderson received a lot of attention at the time of its release, in part because it prompted a discussion of gender stereotypes. [5] Plot [ edit ] In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain after its locomotive breaks down. Larger locomotives, treated anthropomorphically, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. Despite the steep climb and heavy load, the engine slowly succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating the motto: "I-think-I-can". A long and heavy train needs to be pulled up and over a high mountain because its engine has broken down. When all the strong, powerful engines are asked, they refuse. It is Little Engine who agrees and succeeds in pulling the train up and over the steep mountain. Little Engine motivates itself by chanting, ‘I-think-I- can, I-think-I- can, I-think-I- can’.The story is incorporated into the 1977 special The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town, in which the engine is named "Chugs" and is commissioned by the Easter Bunny to deliver Easter candy. [28]

Saulsberry also voices Bud, a toy giraffe. He is much less talkative compared to Lou and does not speak until near the end of the film. Mocean Melvin as Big Choo-Choo Charlie, a silver streamlined Dream Hauler with a purple and orange stripes. Charlie Schlatter as Major, a toy soldier who sometimes finishes his sentences with "sir". He gives up his badge to help bandage a leak in Tammy's water tank.I Think I Can Rail Tour". Archived from the original on November 28, 2010 . Retrieved June 19, 2008. This book was chosen by "Jumpstart Read for the Record" to be read worldwide to tens of thousands of children on August 24, 2006. [29] I Think I Can Rail Tour Schedule". Archived from the original on December 14, 2009 . Retrieved April 18, 2018. The philosophical ideas brought up are moral relativism and moral absolutism. Relativism comes in many flavors, but the one that fits best with The Little Engine That Could is cultural relativism. The world is full of people with different ideas about what is right and what is wrong, and what culture they grew up in changes how they think about things. In other words, they think like those around them, and as such, their values may be different from yours. The trains each believe they are doing the right thing based on their own values, and these stem from the kind of work they do. Later versions would revamp the story to have a more specific appeal for children – the stranded train is recast as a train of good food and anthropomorphic toys for the children across the mountain, thus in saving the train the little engine seems to be working for the benefit of the child reader, making the successful deed all the more triumphant.