The Little Engine That Could: The Complete, Original Edition

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In the 1941 Disney movie Dumbo, the circus train chants Little Engine’s motivational words ‘I-think-I-can’. A train breaks down, which might cause the toys it is carrying to not get over the mountain in time for the boys and girls. Every train engine, big and small, passes it by until the littlest engine agrees to help. “I think I can, I think I can,” says the Little Blue Engine as it starts up the mountain, a seemingly impossible task.

The train is carrying toys and food for good girls and boys. What makes a good toy or good food changes from person to person. National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" . Retrieved August 22, 2012.In Piney Vale of Dream Land, Tammy is a shunter who dreams of becoming a Dream Hauler and bringing dreams to the Real World. She tries to pull boxcars for Big Locomotive, but ends up causing traffic for the other engines, and the Tower reminds her she is only supposed to pull one boxcar at a time due to her small size. Tammy later gets encouragement from Rusty, an old and wise engine. An American fairy tale, it was chosen by ‘Jumpstart Read for the Record’ to be read worldwide in 2006. In 2007, it was also named in the ‘Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children’. The philosophical ideas brought up are moral relativism and moral absolutism. Relativism comes in many flavors, but the one that fits best with The Little Engine That Could is cultural relativism. The world is full of people with different ideas about what is right and what is wrong, and what culture they grew up in changes how they think about things. In other words, they think like those around them, and as such, their values may be different from yours. The trains each believe they are doing the right thing based on their own values, and these stem from the kind of work they do. As it neared the top of the grade, which had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly. However, it still kept saying, "I—think—I—can, I—think—I—can". It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could". In March 2011, the story was adapted as a 3-D film named The Little Engine That Could, produced by Universal Studios and featuring the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alyson Stoner, and Corbin Bleu. [7] Song [ edit ]

This fairy tale is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Later versions were written specifically to appeal more to children. A Disney version of the story was published in 1976. It was adapted in 1991 as an animated film (Wales-USA). In 2011, it was adapted into a 3-D film featuring the voice of Whoopi Goldberg and Jamie Lee Curtis (Universal). American toy company Whittle Shortline produces wooden toy trains of The Little Engine That Could as a domestic alternative to Thomas the Tank Engine. [17] Maxim Enterprise held the license prior to 2006. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad 2012 Railfest". Archived from the original on September 15, 2012 . Retrieved April 18, 2018. In The Little Engine That Could, each train gives different reasons for why it won’t, or can’t, help the toys. Despite the fact that they each feel that they are doing right, they may be doing the wrong thing by failing to help. The idea that there is a right and a wrong thing despite circumstances is moral absolutism. This means that you should do the right thing, no matter what, and that people who are mistaken about what is right and wrong can still do the wrong thing. Questions for Philosophical Discussion Subjective Opinions

Questions for Philosophical Discussion

Another version was published under the name " The Pony Engine" in the Kindergarten Review in 1910, written by Mary C. Jacobs. [2] A different version with the same title appeared in a magazine for children in 1916 under the name of Mabel C. Bragg, a teacher. [3] She introduced new events to the story, such as the train's kid-friendly cargo, but she "took no credit for originating the story". [2] [3] A song version co-written by famed Looney Tunes writer Warren Foster was covered by John Denver, [31] Burl Ives [32] and Guy Lombardo. [33] I Think I Can Rail Tour". Archived from the original on November 28, 2010 . Retrieved June 19, 2008. Steam Shop Tour Success! | Restoring1702". September 25, 2015. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019.