There once was an Engine by the name of Tank, he had a great big train and chugged happily through the day.
Tank was friends with all the cars in his train, and he worked hard to put them where they belonged so all the townspeople
would have there goods.
Tank was happy in his mind but his great big body was becoming to big for his aging motor to move him
Everyday Tank went to work it got harder and harder to place his cars on time, and they were upset with him , and the townspeople
were getting angry because they didnt have all the things they needed for the town to prosper.
Finally the Train cars got together and told Tank the Engine, we love you but we are not getting to market on time and the townspeople
are angry with us. Tank was hurt he had worked hard many years, he knew he was slower but thought he was doing a good job.
One day Tank woke up to go into work with his train car friends, as he had for so many years and when he got there he was shocked and made sad
The train owners had brought in a newer younger Engine to replace him, he watched from the sidetrack, and was so sad.
Tank rolled slowly back to the roundhouse where all the engines stayed and sat there and thought about his long career, the longer he sat there
the more he realized the traincars , train owners and townspeople were all right, he no longer could get the train cars to the market on time.
Tank sat there a couple of days feeling sorry for himself, and that made him feel much worse. Tank finally rolled out of the roundhouse on a beautiful sunny day
and just started rolling back and forth, he didnt have a job anymore so he just wanted to move.
The next day Tank was feeling good about moving so much the first day that he wanted to roll some more, so he went back and forth throughout the day.
Tank knew he was onto somthing good, he shouted hello to his traincar friends the next morning as he rolled out to greet the day, they were all so happy
to see him out of the roundhouse again.
Tank knew he had just grown to be a big engine over the years and it wasnt that his motor wasnt powerful enough to move the train cars at the proper speed,
It was him, he just couldnt move fast he weighed to much, and he recalled that he once was smaller and much faster and powerful.
Tank went back to the roundhouse that night and as he sat there he knew what he had to do. He couldnt eat like a great big Engine till he was full, he had to
eat less and better foods.
Tank went through his cupboards at the roundhouse and got rid of all the cakes and pies and cookies, he had on the shelves, he went to his freezer and got rid
of the icecream he loved to eat. By the time Tank had cleaned out his refrigerator and cabinets there was nothing left but an unopened box of oatmeal.
Tank got out a pot and put the oatmeal on to cook, and when it was done and he tasted it, he was pleasantly surprised it was Yummy ;-0)
Tank rolled out to the market and saw all the good fruits and vegetables, and he bought apples bananas oranges and pears, he bought peppers onions brocolli
and sweet potatoes.
Tank was so amazed at all the good foods he had been missing, he went back the next day and bought lots of chicken and fish Yummy ;-) he was on the right track.
Tank went out everyday and rolled back and forth and faithfully ate his veggies , chicken and fish, and nothing but whole grain breads,
Every morning Tank rolled out and the train cars started to notice he wasnt as big as he used to be, they shouted out to him as they rolled by giving him words
of encouragement. Day by Day Tank continued his exercise and kept getting smaller, and he was getting faster, so he thought he would add some weight to his workouts
he found an old sand car nobody cared about anymore and had it filled with sand.
Tank knew he had to be strong as well as fast so he rolled back and forth with the heavy sand car everyday and pretty soon he was as fast as as he was before he got the
sand.
The train owners had been watching too , and they saw that Tank was no longer a big slow engine, they saw him as a fit and fast powerful engine that could once again
do the job.
The next day when Tank rolled out of the roundhouse to do his daily exercise, there was a great cheer, all his old train car friends were there and ready for him to couple to them and take them to there spots to be unloaded, he took them all around town and dropped them off and picked up there other friends that was already empty , and was back to the roundhouse
in record time.
Tank never went back to being a big engine again, he kept on eating good foods and told all the other engines about eating good and exercising, and he still delivers his train cars everyday, and the townspeople all love him and are happy to see him rolling down the tracks bringing there goods to them;-)
