Air date: October 20th, 2010 (UK), January 1st, 2011 (US)
It is the day of the children's summer picnic in the Whispering Woods and Thomas is given the job of taking the lemonade to the picnic. On the way, Thomas puffs over some bumpy tracks which shakes the bottles of lemonade, making the corks fly into the air. Thomas likes the popping noise, but he cannot see what is making the funny noise. So instead of going straight to the woods, Thomas takes a bumpy track in hoping that he will hear the popping noise again.
Then Thomas sees Mr. Bubbles the clown waiting at a bus stop. Thomas bounces past and one of the popping corks knocks Mr. Bubbles' big red nose off. It rolls down a drain and now Mr. Bubbles will be late for the children's picnic, as he needs to get another one. Next, Thomas puffs down an even bumpier track. The corks come flying out of the bottles once again and land amongst a field of pigs.
Next, Thomas passes the bakery where the bakers are hit by some corks, making them drop the cakes for the children's picnic. Then, Thomas goes over the bumpiest track on Sodor - the Fenland Track. Soon after, he meets James who is taking the children to the picnic. James does not think the popping noise is very amusing when one hits his shiny paintwork. Thomas then causes even more trouble when his corks hit the signalman at a junction. The signalman is so surprised, he accidentally sends James down the wrong track where he hits the buffers with a jolt.
Eventually, Thomas arrives at the Whispering Woods. The Fat Controller is very cross with him and tells Thomas about all the confusion and delay he has caused with the popping corks. To add to that, all the lemonade bottles are empty. Then, the last cork flies through the air and knocks the Fat Controller's hat clean off his head!
Thomas realizes his mistake, so he puffs quickly back to the bakery. The bakers had made more cakes and they are quickly loaded onto Thomas' truck. With the cakes loaded, Thomas puffs back to Knapford to collect more lemonade. Mr. Bubbles is there too. Thomas apologises to Mr. Bubbles and offers him a lift to the picnic.
When Thomas arrives at the picnic with Mr. Bubbles, the children cheer, clap, and laugh. Mr. Bubbles explains that the children's laughs and cheers are the happiest sounds of all, and Thomas has to agree!
Tropes featured in the episode:
- An Aesop: Sometimes whatever you think is silly turns out to be a serious problem.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Thomas' catchphrase for the episode:Thomas: If I bounce along the track,
Perhaps that sound will soon come back!
The sound that makes me smile and giggle,
When I puff on tracks that jiggle! - Rule of Three: The popping corks cause Mr. Bubbles to lose his nose, Emily's cakes to be destroyed, and James to be accidentally sent into a siding where he bumps the buffers.
