Elmer Rescues Baby Dragon and Escapes Wild Island is the climactic rescue and departure in which Elmer Elevator cuts Baby Dragon free from a life of forced service and leaves the island with him. The rescue turns the animals’ own river-crossing system against their pursuit: while they follow Elmer across the Crocodiles, the Crocodiles abandon the bank for the lollipops they are eating. The escape is both a practical flight from danger and a decisive refusal to return Baby Dragon to the work that has defined his captivity.

Causes and Stakes

Baby Dragon’s captivity began after he fell from a low-flying cloud onto the bank of the Wild Island River. Too young to fly well and with a bruised wing, he could not return to the cloud. The animals treated his arrival as a solution to their longstanding difficulty crossing the broad, muddy river, which divided the island and made travel and mail delivery inconvenient. They tied a rope around his neck and waited for his wing to recover; once he could fly, they trained him to carry passengers and loads across the water.

The Old Alley Cat had told Elmer that Baby Dragon was worked for long stretches, sometimes day and night, and was hurt when he complained. The rope, she explained, was thick and knotted, so freeing him would take more than a quick tug. Her account makes the rescue’s stakes clear before Elmer reaches the river: he is not merely seeking a ride, but trying to end a system in which an animal’s ability to fly has been made into compulsory transport for everyone else. Baby Dragon’s agreement to help Elmer, on the condition that Elmer treats him kindly, contrasts with the animals’ use of him as a means to their convenience.

The River Crossing and Pursuit

At the riverbank, Elmer finds a high flagpole with a rope running across to the other side and down to a crank. Its sign instructs anyone seeking the dragon to turn the crank and report disorderly conduct to Gorilla. Elmer understands that the rope is tied to Baby Dragon’s neck and that Gorilla uses it to force him across the river: if Baby Dragon is on one bank, he can be driven toward the other; if he is on the far side, the rope can be cranked to make him return. The apparatus makes the crossing route visible as a mechanism of control, not a service Baby Dragon can freely choose to provide.

Calling to Baby Dragon would alert Gorilla, and Elmer sees no safe alternative to crossing the river. He considers climbing the pole and moving hand over hand along the rope, above water that may contain unfriendly creatures. Instead, Crocodiles offer a route across when they are tempted by something sweet. Elmer uses pink lollipops to get them to form a bridge, crossing from one crocodile’s back to the next. This improvised passage provides a way to reach Baby Dragon without summoning him through the very rope that holds him captive.

As Elmer nears the far bank, the noise of the pursuing animals swells. Seven Tigers, a Rhinoceros, two Lions, Gorilla, Wild Boars, and a larger shouting crowd rush toward the river, convinced that an invader is coming for their dragon. One Wild Boar identifies the Crocodiles as the route Elmer has taken and jumps onto the first one. The pursuit therefore puts Elmer under immediate pressure just as he reaches Baby Dragon: the animals are not only trying to stop him, but are following the same crossing that has made Baby Dragon useful to them.

The Rescue and Reversal

Baby Dragon runs from the bushes when he realizes Elmer has come to rescue him. He warns that the pursuers are crossing too, while Elmer takes out his sharp jackknife and begins sawing through the rope. He tells Baby Dragon to stay still and suggests that, if necessary, they can fly to the opposite bank so he can finish cutting there. The exchange makes their cooperation central to the escape: Baby Dragon signals the danger, and Elmer works to free him while the pursuing crowd closes in.

The reversal comes while the rope is still being cut. The first Crocodile, having finished its lollipop, turns away from the bank and swims downriver. The second follows while still sucking its candy, and the others trail after it. The pursuers, including the Wild Boars, Seven Tigers, Rhinoceros, Lions, and Gorilla, are carried away along the river on the Crocodiles’ backs, distracted by their pink lollipops and left yelling as they ride downstream. The same animals that offered Elmer a crossing have unintentionally removed the immediate threat. Their familiar unreliability, already part of the Old Alley Cat’s account of the river, becomes the means by which the escape succeeds.

Departure and Significance

With the pursuers borne away, Elmer finishes cutting the rope. Baby Dragon circles excitedly and tries a somersault; once he has calmed, Elmer climbs onto his back. Their departure reverses the crossing arrangement: instead of carrying the island’s passengers under compulsion, Baby Dragon now carries a companion who has helped restore his freedom. Elmer announces that they will spend the night on the beach and begin the long journey home the next day, setting their course for the Island of Tangerina.

As they fly above the dark jungle and muddy river, the animals continue to bellow below and the Crocodiles continue licking their lollipops. The comic image does not erase the captivity that prompted the rescue; it shows the island’s transport system unraveling at the moment its supposed beneficiaries are left riding away from the crossing they wanted. When Elmer and Baby Dragon pass over the Ocean Rocks, they hear a small voice insisting that the animals need their dragon. They nevertheless know that nothing will make them return to Wild Island. The ending makes escape final: the animals’ dependence does not restore their claim over Baby Dragon, and the journey home begins without a promise to resume his former work.