from lynx mike and maryann

Mike Mulligan is extremely proud of his great friend and steam shovel, Mary Anne. In fact, he believes that she is as strong as one hundred men. Unfortunately it's getting harder and harder for Mike and Mary Anne to find work - the new diesel and nuclear shovels have been taking all the excavating jobs.When Mike discovers an opportunity to dig the foundation for Popperville's new city hall, he and Mary Anne go there immediately. As they arrive in Popperville, they discover many different kinds of shovels have already arrived for thejob and a bidding will be held to determine who will get it. The bidding will be officiated by one of the selectmen, Henry B.Swap. Mr. Swap goes out of his way to belittle Mary Anne and Mike because they are not up-to-date. As the other shovels appear for the bidding, Mike and Mary Anne realize they have their work cut out for them. To prepare Mary Anne for the bidding, Mike decides to go into town and buy some polish to make her look as clean as possible.While Mike is purchasing the polish, the bidding goes on without him. Mary Anne is left to bid and she become very discouraged as she meets her competition - the Diesel, Electric, and Nuclear shovels. Each has a lot of power and can perform tricks that MaryAnne just can't. Henry B. Swap is very impressed with each of the three shovels' performances. By the time Mike Mulliganre turns, the Nuclear Shovel has won the bidding, by promising to dig the foundation in three days for $3,000. Still determined that he and Mary Anne are the best duo for the job, he asks Henry B. Swap if he can enter one last bid. He and Mary Anne will dig the foundation in one day and if they can't do it, then Mr. Swap can keep Mary Anne for his scrapyard. Henry B. Swap can't refuse the offer, and Mike and Mary Anne are awarded the job.The next day, Mike and Mary Anne start early in the morning: "Crowd. Hoist. Swing." Towns people and kids come to cheer them on. As more and more people come, Mike and Mary Anne work harder and harder. In the middle of the dig, MaryAnne's spring breaks and Mr. Swap announces that she and Mike can't finish the job. Luckily, a young lady watching finds aspring and with Mike's handiwork, Mary Anne gets up and running again. Mike and Mary Anne finish the job by their deadline. Unfortunately, they are faced with one more problem - Mary Anne is stuck in the new hole. A young man has a great idea: leave Mary Anne in the basement to be the new town hall's furnace, and let Mike be the janitor there. Henry B. Swap agrees to the deal and eventually he and Mike become friends. --Posted by lynx to The Popperville Town Hall at 1/3/2005 01:42:42 PM

This is absolutely great!

...I don't like the idea of being a janitor.... How about grounds and building engineer. How about VP for facility development.....

I don't know how this got deleted -christ I haven't figured how to do it yet