Old Alley Cat

Old Alley Cat is the first person to show Elmer Elevator a kindness that changes the course of his life. Their friendship begins with shelter and milk on a cold, rainy day, but grows into a partnership built on shared trust and a promise: she tells Elmer about Baby Dragon’s captivity on Wild Island and helps him prepare to go there. Too old to accompany him, she nevertheless supplies the knowledge and assistance that make his rescue journey possible.

Identity and First Meeting

Old Alley Cat meets Elmer on his street when he is a little boy. She is old, wet, and uncomfortable in the rain; Elmer asks whether she would like to come home with him. The offer surprises her because she has never before met anyone who cared about an old alley cat. She accepts on practical terms, hoping for a place beside a warm furnace and a saucer of milk. Her introduction therefore establishes both her vulnerability and her capacity to respond warmly when someone treats her with consideration.

The welcome does not last unchallenged. Elmer’s mother hates cats, particularly old alley cats, and refuses to provide milk, arguing that feeding one stray would mean having to feed every stray in town. Elmer is saddened by her response and apologizes to Old Alley Cat for the rudeness. He asks her to stay and promises to find a way to bring her milk each day. For three weeks he keeps that promise, until his mother discovers the saucer in the cellar. She whips Elmer and throws Old Alley Cat out of the house.

Friendship with Elmer

The expulsion separates the pair physically but does not end their friendship. Elmer sneaks out to find Old Alley Cat, and they walk together in the park, trying to think of pleasant things to talk about. Their conversation turns to Elmer’s wish to own an airplane and fly wherever he can imagine going. When Old Alley Cat asks whether he wants to fly very much, his emphatic answer gives her a way to offer more than comfort: she believes she knows how he might fly while he is still a boy.

Her response comes from attention to Elmer’s particular longing, not from a ready-made promise of an airplane. She proposes something better: if he can rescue a dragon, the dragon may let him ride. Elmer’s excitement is sharpened by the recent conflict at home; he is so angry at his mother for treating Old Alley Cat rudely that he does not feel sad about leaving for a while. The friendship thus links an intimate act of care—the daily milk, followed by the reunion in the park—to a far larger undertaking.

Traveler and Witness on Wild Island

Old Alley Cat’s plan depends on experience. She explains that she had been a traveler when younger and had made one last trip the previous spring, sailing to the Island of Tangerina and stopping at the port of Cranberry. After missing her boat, she had time to explore Wild Island, which she had noticed on the way. A long string of rocks joins the island to Tangerina, but people do not go there because it is mostly jungle and inhabited by very wild animals. She crossed the rocks to see the place for herself and found something that made her want to weep.

That discovery was Baby Dragon, whom the animals had begun training to carry passengers after his wing healed. Old Alley Cat describes him as about the size of a large black bear when she saw him, with a long tail, yellow and blue stripes, red horn, eyes, and the bottoms of his feet, and gold-colored wings. Her account makes the contrast between his striking appearance and his treatment especially plain: although he is still a baby, the animals work him all day and sometimes all night, burden him with loads that are too heavy, and twist his wings and beat him if he complains. They keep him tied to a stake by a rope long enough to reach across the river. His only friends are the Crocodiles, who greet him once a week, if they remember.

Old Alley Cat does not present herself as having already freed him. She says that, when she left, she promised to try to help someday, though she could not see how. The rope around his neck is so tough and knotted that untying it would take days. Her account combines compassion with an honest sense of the obstacle: the rescue is needed, but it will not be easy. Elmer’s wish to fly gives her a possible answer to the problem, turning her earlier promise into a task another person may be able to carry out.

Preparing the Rescue

Once Elmer agrees, Old Alley Cat helps convert the idea into a plan. That very afternoon they go to the docks to ask about ships sailing to the Island of Tangerina. They learn that a ship will leave the following week, and Old Alley Cat advises Elmer about what to take and tells him everything she knows about Wild Island. She cannot go with him because she is too old, a limit that makes her role one of preparation and counsel rather than direct participation in the rescue.

The preparations are kept secret. Elmer and Old Alley Cat hide the things they find or buy behind a rock in the park, then pack them carefully in his father’s knapsack on the night before he sails. The supplies include chewing gum, two dozen pink lollipops, rubber bands, black rubber boots, a compass, a toothbrush and toothpaste, six magnifying glasses, a jackknife, a comb and hairbrush, seven colored hair ribbons, clean clothes, and food. For the voyage, Elmer takes twenty-five peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and six apples, the number he could find in the pantry. These concrete provisions show the practical reach of Old Alley Cat’s assistance: she helps Elmer prepare not only for the journey but for the difficulties he expects to encounter.

At the docks, a night watchman is on duty. Old Alley Cat makes loud, strange noises to distract him while Elmer runs across the gangplank and hides among bags of wheat in the ship’s hold. The ship sails early the next morning. Old Alley Cat cannot cross the sea with Elmer, but she is present at the final moment before his departure, helping him pass from a secret plan to action. Her importance lies in this combination of sympathy, travel-won knowledge, and practical help: she recognizes the injustice done to Baby Dragon, sees how Elmer’s dream might serve another creature, and helps set his rescue attempt in motion.