Free Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

train was stopping at a little station.
"Hi! hie!" yelled Jo to the driver. "I want to drive your train!"
"Come along up, then," said the driver, jumping down. "The engine
is just ready to go!"
12.
     
   
The Land of Do-As-You-Please.
     
   
Jo jumped up into the cab of the engine. A bright fire was burning there. He looked
at ail the shining handles and wheels.
     
   
"Shall I know which is which?" he asked the driver.
     
   
"Oh, yes," said the driver. "That's the starting wheel-and that's
to make the whistle go-and that's to go slow-and that's to go fast. You can't
make a mistake. Don't forget to stop at the stations, will you? And oh-look out
for the level-crossing gates, in case they are shut. It would be a pity to bump
into them and break them."
Jo felt tremendously excited. Dick looked up longingly. "Jo! Could I come
too?" he begged. "Do let me. Just to watch you."
"All right," said Jo. So Dick hopped up on to the engine. The girls,
Moon-Face and Silky got into a carriage just behind. The guard ran up the platform
waving a green flag and blowing his whistle.
     
   
"The signal's down!" yelled Dick. "Go on, Jo! Start her up!"
Jo twisted the starting wheel. The engine began to chuff-chuff-chuff and moved
out of the station. The girls gave a squeal of delight.
     
   
"Jo's really driving the train!" cried Bessie. "Oh isn't he clever!
He's wanted to drive an engine all his life!"
The engine began to go very fast-too fast. Jo pulled the "Go Slow" handle,
and it went more slowly. He was so interested in what he was doing that he didn't
notice he was coming to a station. He shot right through it!
"Jo!" cried Dick, "you've gone by a station. Gracious, the passengers
waiting there did look cross-and oh, look, a lot of them in our train wanted to
get out there!"
Sure enough quite a number of angry people were looking out of the carriage windows,
yelling to Jo to stop.
     
   
Jo went red. He pulled the "Stop" handle. The engine stopped. Then Jo
pulled the "Go Backwards" handle and the train moved slowly backwards
to the station. It stopped there and Jo and Dick had the pleasure of seeing the
passengers get out and in. The guard came rushing up.
     
   
"You passed the station, you passed the station!" he cried. "Don't
you dare to pass my station again without stopping!"
"All right, all right," said Jo. "Now then-off we go again!"
And off they went.
     
   
"Keep a look-out for stations, signals, tunnels and level crossings, Dick,"
said Jo. So Dick stuck his head out and watched.
     
   
"Level crossing!" he cried. "The gates are shut! Slow down, Jo,
slow down!"
But unluckily Jo pulled the "Go Fast" handle instead of the "Go
Slow" and the train shot quickly to the closed gates of the level-crossing.
Just as the engine had nearly reached them a
little man rushed out of the cabin near by and flung the gates open just in time!
"You bad driver!" he shouted as the train roared past. "You might
have broken my gates!"
"That was a narrow squeak," said Jo. "What's this coming now, Dick?"
"A tunnel," said Dick. "Whistle as you go through in case anyone
is walking in it."
So Jo made the engine whistle loudly. It really was fun. It raced through the
dark tunnel and came out near a station.
     
   
"Stop! Station, Jo!" cried Dick. And Jo stopped. Then on went the train
again, whistling loudly, rushing past signals that were down.
     
   
Then something happened. The "Go Slow" and the "Stop" handles-wouldn't
work! The train
raced on and on past stations, big and small, through tunnels, past signals that
were up, and behaved just as if it had gone mad.
     
   
"I say!" said Dick in alarm, "what's gone wrong, Jo?"
Jo didn't know. For miles and miles the train tore on, and all the passengers
became alarmed. And then, as the train drew near a station, it gave a loud sigh,
ran slowly and then stopped all by itself.
     
   
And it was the very same station it had