Dragons

In the story, dragons are represented by Baby Dragon, a young flyer whose ability to cross a river is seized and turned into compulsory transport. His captivity exposes the violence behind the animals’ convenient crossing system; his rescue by Elmer Elevator changes flight from an imposed service into the means of his escape. Though the account offers no general natural history of dragons, Baby Dragon’s appearance, vulnerability, and actions give this individual a distinct presence and a decisive role in the adventure.

Identity and Appearance

Baby Dragon falls from a low-flying cloud onto the bank of the Wild Island River about four months before Old Alley Cat tells Elmer Elevator about him. He is too young to fly well, and a badly bruised wing prevents him from returning to his cloud. The animals find him in this vulnerable state. His injury is temporary, but the rope they put around his neck becomes the means by which they keep control of him after his wing heals.

Old Alley Cat describes Baby Dragon as about the size of a large black bear, while allowing that he may have grown since she left the island. He has a long tail, yellow and blue stripes, a red horn, red eyes, red undersides to his feet, and gold-colored wings. The bright, particular markings make him memorable before Elmer meets him; they also distinguish the living creature from the purely practical role the island’s animals assign him.

Capture and Forced Labor

The animals see Baby Dragon’s arrival as a solution to a longstanding inconvenience. Wild Island is divided by a wide, muddy river, and reaching the far side by going around its source makes visits difficult and mail delivery slow, especially during the Christmas rush. The animals could use Crocodiles to ferry passengers and mail, but consider them moody, unreliable, and liable to seek food. Baby Dragon’s flight appears to offer a dependable alternative.

They tie a large rope around his neck and wait for his injured wing to recover. Once it has healed, they train him to carry passengers. In practice, the training becomes round-the-clock labor: he is made to haul loads that are too heavy, and when he complains, the animals twist his wings and beat him. A stake anchors the rope, which is long enough for him to cross the river but not to leave. The system depends not simply on his ability to fly, but on restricting where he can fly and inflicting pain when he resists.

The restraint is deliberately difficult to undo. Old Alley Cat describes the rope as exceptionally large and tough, with so many knots that untying them would take days. On the riverbank, Elmer sees the rope’s other end connected to a flagpole and crank. A sign instructs passersby to summon the dragon by yanking the crank and report disorderly conduct to Gorilla. The mechanism makes the arrangement public and routine: Baby Dragon can be pulled across the river, while the threat of further injury enforces the animals’ control.

Friendship and Rescue

Old Alley Cat, who hid in the bushes to speak with Baby Dragon when no one else was around, becomes his friend. His only other companions are the Crocodiles, who greet him about once a week when they remember. Before leaving the island, Old Alley Cat promises to help him, although she cannot see how. Her account gives Elmer both the knowledge of Baby Dragon’s mistreatment and the personal connection that turns an abstract rescue into a commitment to a particular captive.

When Elmer reaches the river, he understands that calling Baby Dragon could alert Gorilla. The dragon’s rope creates a cruel trap: if Baby Dragon is on one bank, Gorilla can twist his wings until pain forces him to fly across; if he is on the other, the crank can tighten the rope until he risks choking or must fly back. Elmer’s plan therefore has to free Baby Dragon from the mechanism, not merely reach him. When the animals begin pursuing Elmer, Baby Dragon recognizes that help is coming, runs out of the bushes, and calls urgently for him to hurry as the boar approaches over the Crocodiles.

Elmer reaches him with a sharp jackknife and begins sawing through the rope, urging him to stand still. The pursuing crowd is closing in: both Wild Boars, all Seven Tigers, two Lions, Rhinoceros, Gorilla, and a mass of screeching monkeys are crossing on the Crocodiles. The danger is immediate, and there is still rope to cut. The Crocodiles then turn downriver one after another, lured onward by their Pink lollipops. The pursuing animals are carried away on the moving line of Crocodiles, giving Elmer time to finish cutting Baby Dragon free.

Freedom and Narrative Significance

Once the rope is severed, Baby Dragon races in circles and tries to turn a somersault; Elmer and the dragon laugh together at the absurd sight of their pursuers being swept down the river. The change is physical and emotional at once: the tether that confined him is gone, and his exuberant movement contrasts with the forced crossings that had defined his captivity. When he has calmed down, Elmer climbs onto his back. Baby Dragon takes an active part in their departure, asking where they will go rather than appearing only as a mount. Elmer chooses the shores of Tangerina, and Baby Dragon flies above the jungle, river, and shouting animals with him.

Baby Dragon’s story turns a seemingly useful invention into a question of who bears its cost. The river crossing serves the island’s convenience, but its reliability has been manufactured through a young animal’s confinement, exhausting work, and punishment. The rescue does not show the animals changing their practices; it ends Baby Dragon’s participation in them by cutting the rope and leaving the island. His flight thus carries both the practical reward that prompted Elmer’s journey and a more consequential release from the role imposed on him.