The Little Engine That Could is an American folktale to teach children the value ofoptimism and hard work. It is best known for its signature motif: "I think I can!"
The story originated in the early 20th century being retold by various authors, includingMary C. Jacobs. It was first referred to as its well known title in a 1920 edition published within theMy Book House series. The most widely known version by Arnold "Watty Piper" Munk was published in 1930 byPlatt & Munk. The 1930 version will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2026.
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In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain after itslocomotive breaks down. Larger locomotives, treatedanthropomorphically, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons, they refuse because they think they are too important. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. Despite the steep climb and heavy load, the engine slowly succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating the motto: "I think I can".
The story of the little engine has been told and retold many times. The underlying theme is the same—a stranded train is unable to find an engine willing to take it on over difficult terrain to its destination. Only the little engine is willing to try and, while repeating the mantra "I think I can, I think I can", overcomes a seemingly impossible task.
An early version goes as follows:[citation needed]
A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill. "I can't; that is too much a pull for me", said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. In desperation, the train asked the littleswitch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. "I think I can", puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can".
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".
ADisney version of the story was published as a record in 1964.
The story begins with a toy-filled train pulled by a small red engine on its way to a town on the other side of a mountain but the engine shortly breaks down upon reaching the mountain. The toy clown flags down other engines to help them: a shiny yellow passenger engine and a big black freight engine. The shiny passenger engine and big freight engine both refuse to help. Finally, a little blue engine arrives. Although she is simply a switcher engine and has never been over the mountain, she agrees to help pull the train. In the end, she was able to successfully reach the top of the mountain before slowly heading down towards the town.
The story's signature phrases such as "I think I can" first occurred in print in a 1902 article in a Swedish journal.[1] An early published version of the story, "Story of the Engine That Thought It Could", appeared in theNew-York Tribune on April 8, 1906, as part of a sermon by the Rev. Charles S. Wing.[1]
A brief version of the tale appeared under the title "Thinking One Can" in 1906, inWellspring for Young People, aSunday school publication.[1] This version reappeared in a 1910 book,Foundation Stones of Success.[1]
Another version was published under the name "The Pony Engine" in theKindergarten Review in 1910, written byMary C. Jacobs.[1] A different version with the same title appeared in a magazine for children in 1916 under the name of Mabel C. Bragg, a teacher.[2] She introduced new events to the story, such as the train's kid-friendly cargo, but she "took no credit for originating the story".[1][2]
The first version with the title "The Little Engine That Could" appeared in 1920 in the U.S., in Volume 1 ofMy Book House, a set of books sold door-to-door.[1] This version began: "Once there was a Train-of-Cars; she was flying across the country with a load of Christmas toys for the children who lived on the other side of the mountain".[1] The story was labeled, as told byOlive Beaupré Miller, that the first edition gave credit to Bragg, but subsequent editions did not as Miller subsequently concluded that "the story belonged to the realm of folk literature".[1] Miller was the founding editor and publisher of The Book House for Children, a company based in Chicago.
The best known incarnation ofThe Little Engine That Could was published in 1930 by "Watty Piper", pen name of Arnold Munk, who was the owner of the publishing firm Platt & Munk.[2] The title page stated: "Retold by Watty Piper from The Pony Engine by Mabel C. Bragg's copyrighted by George H. Doran and Co."[1] Munk used the name Watty Piper as both an author of children's books and as the editor of many of the books that Platt & Munk published. He personally hiredLois Lenski to illustrate the book.
In 1954, Platt & Munk published another version ofThe Little Engine That Could with slightly revised language and new, more colorful illustrations byGeorge and Doris Hauman. Although there had been many previous editions of this classic story, "it was the work of George and Doris Hauman that earnedThe Little Engine the title of being worthy to sit on the same shelf asAlice's Adventures in Wonderland". A 1976 reworking that featured art byRuth Sanderson received a lot of attention at the time of its release, in part because it prompted a discussion of gender stereotypes.
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Later versions would revamp the story to have a more specific appeal for children – the stranded train is recast as atank engine pulling good food and anthropomorphic toys for the children across the mountain, thus in saving the train the little engine seems to be working for the benefit of the child reader, making the successful deed all the more triumphant.
In these versions, another character appeared and remained a key part of the story hereafter – the clown ringleader of the toys who attempts to find help with several locomotives but is rebuffed. The number of engines in the story also eventually became standard across the telling: the happy locomotive on the toy train who breaks down and cannot go on, the pompous passenger engine who considers himself too grand for the task and the powerful freight engine who views himself as too important. At least one version includes an old-time engine that says he is 'too tired' to help. The little blue engine always appears last and, although perhaps reluctant (some editions have the engine clarify her role as a switcher not suited for excursions), always rises to the occasion and saves the day for the children over the mountain.
Each engine is defined by its appearance or function and is not given a name or personality beyond its role on the railroad. It is only in the1991 film adaption that the engines' personalities are expanded on, including the granting of names:Farnsworth (the express engine),Pete (the freight engine),Jebediah (the old-time engine),Georgia (the friendly engine of the toy train), andTillie, the titular "little engine that could". The clown was also named "Rollo" and a sixth engine character,Doc, appeared briefly to recover the broken-down Georgia and thus tie up the hanging story-thread of what happened to the failed engine of the toy train, which all other versions leave unaddressed.The 2011 adaptation expanded the storyline, this time with the little engine now working in Dreamland with Rusty (an old steam engine) alongside other Dream Haulers, trains that carried dreams to the real world while the original personalities of the previous locomotives are absent from this version.
The 1963 film,The Little Engine That Could, byCoronet Films was the first adaption of the story. The story was adapted for second time in January 1991 as a30-minute animated film produced in the United Kingdom and co-financed in the United Kingdom and the United States. The film named the engine Tillie and expanded the narrative into a larger story of self-discovery.[citation needed]
In March 2011, the story was adapted for third time as a 3-D film namedThe Little Engine That Could, produced byUniversal Studios and featuring the voices ofWhoopi Goldberg,Jamie Lee Curtis,Alyson Stoner, andCorbin Bleu.
Burl Ives recorded the story told as a song written byGerald Marks and Milton Pascal with an orchestra directed byPercy Faith. It was released on the albumBurl Ives Sings Little White Duck and Other Children's Favorites in 1964.[3]
From 2005 to 2008, a full-size replica of the Little Engine That Could made an annual circuit around the United States. Arranged through Rail Events, Inc., a number of tourist and museum railroad operations hosted the "I Think I Can" Rail Tour.[4] The replica was constructed in 2005 by theStrasburg Rail Road in southeast Pennsylvania who also constructed theThomas the Tank Engine replicas that tour the United States.[5] The last tour was in 2008.[6] In 2009, the replica only appeared at theTexas State Railroad.[7] In 2011, the website for the tour said that there would be dates announced for that year,[8] but dates were never posted and the message was still present in 2012 until it went offline.[9] The last time the train ever operated was on September 16, 2012.[10] As of 2015, the replica is owned by theGreat Smoky Mountains Railroad, and has since been repainted to remove all references to the Little Engine That Could. It is currently displayed at the depot.[11]
A 1949 recording of the story byPaul Wing was inducted to theNational Recording Registry in 2009.[15]
Based on a 2007 online poll, theNational Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".[16]
