drip, chug-chug."

(After a moment stop the children)

That's the way the new engine sounded when he started on his first ride
and didn't know how to do things very well. But that's not the way he
sounded when he had learned to go really smooth and fast. Then it was
that he learned _really_ to sing "The Knowing Song of the Engine." He
sang it better than any one else for he became the fastest, the
steadiest, the most knowing of all express engines. And this is the song
he sang. You could hear it humming on the rails long before he came and
hear it humming on the rails long after he had passed. Now listen to the
song.

(Begin very softly rising to a climax with "I'm here" and gradually
dying to a faint whisper)

"I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming,
I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming,
I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming,
I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming.
I'M HERE, I'M HERE, I'M HERE, I'M HERE,
I'M HERE, I'M HERE, I'M HERE, I'M HERE.
I'm Going, I'm Going, I'm Going, I'm Going,
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going,
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going,
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going."

THE FOG BOAT STORY

The refrains must be intoned if not sung to get the proper effect. Most
of the informational parts of the original story have been cut out. The
story grew out of questions asked before breakfast on foggy days, and
was originally told to the sound of the distant fog horns.

THE FOG BOAT STORY

Early, early one morning, all the fog boats were talking. This is the
way they were going:

"Toot, toot, toot, too-oot, to-oo-oot!" (on many different keys.)

[Illustration]

Way down at the wharf a big steamer was being pulled out into the river.
The furnaces were all going for the stokers were down in the hole
shoveling coal, down in the hole shoveling coal, shoveling coal, and a
lot of black smoke was coming out of the smoke stack. And the engines
were working, chug, chug, chug. And all the baggage and freight had been
put down in the hold. And all the food had been put on the ice. And all
the passengers were on board and the gang-plank had been pulled up. And
this is what the big steamer was saying:

[Illustration: Musical Score
"Toot toot I'm mov-ing; toot toot I'm mov-ing."]

And do you know what was making the steamer move?