- “Tit for tat! Tit for tat! It's payback time!”
- ―Bert plotting revenge on the Fat Clergyman
Tit for Tat is the fourteenth episode of the third series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Small Railway Engines.
Plot[]
One day, two visitors come to the Island of Sodor to take pictures of interesting engines. They spend the whole day on Thomas' branch line, but Thomas is jealous that they are taking pictures of Toby rather than him. He is satisfied at the end of the day, when they take a picture of him at Ffarquhar. They then tell him that they are visiting the miniature engines next, but as it is cloudy, they decide to wait until the rain stops. The next morning, the small engines' drivers are polishing them for the visitors. They tell the engines that one of the visitors (Wilbert Awdry) is an author, while the other (Teddy Boston) takes moving photographs. Bert, confused, believes that this means that he will be physically put in a book.
As Bert prepares to take a passenger train to the other end of the line, the two clergymen meet him at the station and compliment him. Bert, flattered, offers to let the visitors ride in his tender. They tell him that they would be willing to do so later, as the sun is shining brightly and they would like to take some pictures. Bert greets them when he sees them above the line later, but is offended when they do not wave. His driver tells him that the two men cannot wave and get good pictures, which alleviates Bert's annoyance.
There are still large amounts of muddy puddles on the ground from the storm the night prior. As the two clergymen pass Bert in their car, they run over a mud puddle and splash him with muddy water. Bert is infuriated, believing they did this on purpose, and becomes even more angry when they take a picture of him with mud on his face.
Even after Bert's driver cleans his face off, he is still dirty. Bert decides to pay the visitors back. As the fat clergyman asks Bert if he can have the previously-offered ride in his tender, Bert is about to refuse, but his driver quickly intervenes and allows the visitor to get in the tender.
As they are travelling along the line, Bert decides to make his move and pay the visitor out. He slows down on his way up a hill, then blows out a cloud of steam from his funnel which causes a shower of water to fall from the leaves on his driver and the fat clergyman, along with a wet squirrel.
The Small Controller is furious when he hears about this and scolds Bert for what he did and sends him to his shed in disgrace. The visitors, feeling sorry for him, apologise for splashing him, and tell him that they were overly excited about getting pictures of him. Bert apologises for his actions as well, and the clergymen decide to make it up to him by cleaning him up.
When Mike and Rex return to the sheds, having heard that he had an argument with the two visitors, Bert tells them that the visitors were actually rather nice. He also informs the two engines that the visitors told him that they plan to write about him in a book and show him off on television. Mike and Rex, on the other hand, are both doubtful.
Characters[]
- Thomas
- Bert
- Rex
- Mike
- Annie and Clarabel
- Fergus Duncan
- The Thin Clergyman
- The Fat Clergyman
- Toby (does not speak)
- James (cameo)
- Henrietta (cameo)
- Lady Hatt (cameo)
- Bridget Hastt (cameo)
- Mrs. Kyndley (cameo)
- Jem Cole (cameo)
- Farmer Trotter (cameo)
| << Series 2 | Series 3 | Series 4 >> |
| #01 Thomas Gets Bumped | #10 Mud and Leaves | #19 Escape to the Little Western | #28 Scrambled Eggs |
| #02 Edward, Trevor and the Really Useful Party | #11 Bertie Saves the Day | #20 The Trouble With Bear | #29 Down the Drain |
| #03 Thomas, Percy and the Dragon | #12 All at Sea | #21 Donald's Duck | #30 Duck, James and the Fruitful Day |
| #04 Thomas and the Hurricane | #13 Ballast | #22 Douglas and the Duck | #31 Mavis |
| #05 No Joke for James | #14 Tit for Tat | #23 Oliver Owns Up | #32 Toby's Tightrope |
| #06 Thomas, Percy and the Post Train | #15 Mike's Whistle | #24 Bulgy | #33 Thomas and Percy's Mountain Village Rescue |
| #07 Trust Thomas | #16 Useful Railway | #25 What a Picture! | #34 Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure |
| #08 Henry's Forest | #17 Tender Engines | #26 What's the Matter with Henry? | |
| #09 Henry and the Fox Hunt | #18 Super Rescue | #27 Heroes |