The Animals’ Vanity and Distraction

My Father's Dragon

This flow connects the Rhinoceros’s insecurity and Lion’s grooming crisis to Elmer’s nonviolent survival and the widening pursuit.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Weeping Pool The Weeping Pool from "My Father's Dragon". A Private Grievance The encounter Rhinoceros catches Elmer over a pool and says that trespassers are drowned there.

The Weeping Pool from "My Father's Dragon". A Private Grievance The encounter Rhinoceros catches Elmer over a pool and says that trespassers are drowned there.

A Private Grievance The encounter Rhinoceros catches Elmer over a pool and says that trespassers are drowned there. He explains that he weeps over his aging, discolored tusk. Vulnerability beneath menace The animal’s threat coexists with insecurity about appearance. Elmer listens for the grievance that might redirect the danger.

A Promise of Whiteness A Promise of Whiteness from "My Father's Dragon". The Tusk’s Small Spot Elmer’s offer Elmer produces toothpaste and a toothbrush and demonstrates a clean white patch on the tusk.

A Promise of Whiteness from "My Father's Dragon". The Tusk’s Small Spot Elmer’s offer Elmer produces toothpaste and a toothbrush and demonstrates a clean white patch on the tusk.

The Tusk’s Small Spot Elmer’s offer Elmer produces toothpaste and a toothbrush and demonstrates a clean white patch on the tusk. Attention redirected Rhinoceros takes over the brushing, delighted by the possible restoration. His vanity interrupts the threatened drowning and permits Elmer to leave.

The Boar’s Suspicion The Boar’s Suspicion from "My Father's Dragon". A Witness Misreads the Scene An odd discovery Wild Boar sees Rhinoceros engrossed in brushing with unfamiliar supplies and asks where they came from.

The Boar’s Suspicion from "My Father's Dragon". A Witness Misreads the Scene An odd discovery Wild Boar sees Rhinoceros engrossed in brushing with unfamiliar supplies and asks where they came from.

A Witness Misreads the Scene An odd discovery Wild Boar sees Rhinoceros engrossed in brushing with unfamiliar supplies and asks where they came from. Rhinoceros is too occupied to explain. Suspicion grows The boar treats absorption as evidence of interference. Elmer’s successful escape inadvertently strengthens the theory that someone is disrupting the island.

The Tangled Mane The Tangled Mane from "My Father's Dragon". A Crisis of Appearance Lion’s distress Lion scolds himself for going blackberrying and ruining his mane.

The Tangled Mane from "My Father's Dragon". A Crisis of Appearance Lion’s distress Lion scolds himself for going blackberrying and ruining his mane.

A Crisis of Appearance Lion’s distress Lion scolds himself for going blackberrying and ruining his mane. He fears that his visiting mother will stop his allowance if she sees the mess. Threat mixed with worry Even while considering Elmer as food, Lion is preoccupied with grooming. That concern gives Elmer an opening to offer help.

The Ribboned Braid The Ribboned Braid from "My Father's Dragon". A Grooming Lesson Elmer’s demonstration Elmer brushes and combs Lion’s mane, then braids a forelock and ties it with a ribbon.

The Ribboned Braid from "My Father's Dragon". A Grooming Lesson Elmer’s demonstration Elmer brushes and combs Lion’s mane, then braids a forelock and ties it with a ribbon.

A Grooming Lesson Elmer’s demonstration Elmer brushes and combs Lion’s mane, then braids a forelock and ties it with a ribbon. Lion watches closely and takes up the tools. Escape and exposure Lion’s attention lets Elmer slip away, while the conspicuous grooming adds another clue for Wild Boars. Personal vanity saves Elmer but intensifies the larger misunderstanding.

after Elmer follows the jungle trail to a brook

during the confrontation at the pool

moments after Elmer escapes Rhinoceros

later, when Elmer reaches Lion’s clearing

before Lion’s mother arrives by dragon