Elmer and the Dragon

by Ruth Stiles Gannett

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  1. Tangerina

  2. Storm

  3. The Sand Bar

  4. The Island

  5. Flute, the Canary

  6. King Can XI

  7. The Secret

  8. Treasure

  9. Farewell

  10. Elmer Flies Home

  About the Author and the Illustrator

  Chapter One

  TANGERINA

  Into the evening sky flew Elmer Elevator aboard the gentle baby dragon, leaving Wild Island behind forever. Elmer, who was nine years old, had just rescued the dragon from the ferocious animals who lived on the island. An old alley cat told him how the dragon had been hurt when he fell from a cloud onto the island, and how the wild animals had made him their miserable prisoner. Elmer, feeling sorry for the dragon, and also hoping to fly on his back, had set off to the rescue.

  Now the dragon was free, and happy and grateful, and he said, "Elmer, you were wonderful to come all the way to Wild Island just to rescue me. I'll never be able to thank you enough!"

  "Oh, that's all right," said Elmer. "Flying on your back makes all my trouble worthwhile."

  "Then I'll take you on a trip! Where would you like to go?"

  "Everywhere," said Elmer. "The trouble is that I ran away ten days ago to rescue you, and I guess I ought to be getting home."

  "Well, at least I can fly you there." "That would be swell," said Elmer, peering over the dragon's side. "Let's rest tonight down there on Tangerina Island, and start the trip tomorrow."

  "Fine," said the dragon, swooping down and landing beneath a tree on the beach of Tangerina.

  Elmer slid down and took off his knapsack. "You're beautiful!" he said, admiring the dragon's blue and yellow stripes, his red horn and eyes, his great long tail, and especially his gold-colored wings shining in the faint moonlight.

  "It's very kind of you to say so," said the dragon, suddenly feeling very hungry. "What's there to eat around here?"

  "Tangerines all over the place!" said Elmer, picking one and peeling it for the dragon.

  "Pew! Pew! What a terrible taste!" choked the dragon, spitting out the tangerine as hard as he could.

  "What do dragons eat?" asked Elmer.

  "I used to enjoy the skunk cabbages and the ostrich ferns on Wild Island, but I don't see any here," said the dragon, looking anxiously up and down the empty beach.

  "Maybe you'd like the tangerine peelings?" suggested Elmer.

  The dragon closed his eyes and carefully bit off a small corner of a piece of a peel. Then he jumped up yelling, "Why, they're delicious!"

  So Elmer and the dragon ate nineteen tangerines, Elmer the insides and the dragon the peels. A chilly wind blew along the beach and the dragon curled his great long tail around the boy to keep him warm. "Good night!" said Elmer, resting his head on his knapsack. "I can't wait for the trip home tomorrow."

  Next morning, as the sun edged over the horizon, the dragon rubbed his eyes, stretched his wings, and yawned. "My, but it's good to be free again! By the way, Elmer, where do you live?"

  "In Nevergreen City near Evergreen Park on the coast of Popsicornia," mumbled Elmer, who was already awake and eating tangerines.

  "I hope you know how to get there," said the dragon.

  "Don't you?" asked Elmer.

  "No, don't you?" asked the dragon.

  "No," said Elmer. "You see, I came here in the bottom of a boat and I couldn't see where I was going."

  "The seagulls will know," said the dragon. "They follow ships out to sea."

  "I'll go ask one," said Elmer, suddenly remembering that it would be nice to be home for his father's birthday. He walked down to the water where a very old gull was blinking at the morning sun.

  "Excuse me," said Elmer, "but did you ever hear of Nevergreen City?"

  "Of course," croaked the very old gull. "I lived there before I followed a ship to Tangerina, but I wouldn't dream of going back now."

  "That's very interesting," said Elmer, "but would you know how to go if you did want to?"

  "Certainly!" answered the old gull, pointing his right wing toward the ocean. "Just fly in exactly that direction until you get there."

  Elmer took out his compass and found that this direction was west northwest. "Is it very far?"

  "Far? I should say so!"

  "Well, thanks a lot," said Elmer.

  "I'm kind of worried," said the dragon. "Suppose we never find it?"

  "We'll find it, all right," said Elmer, who was a tiny bit worried himself.

  The dragon ran along the beach warming up his wings while Elmer packed sixty-nine tangerines, as many as his knapsack would hold. Besides the tangerines, he had in his knapsack all sorts of things left over from the rescue, including seven pink lollipops (which he was saving for an emergency), half a package

  of rubber bands, three sticks of chewing gum, a very good jackknife, and a burlap bag. Of course, he kept his compass in his pocket where it would be handy, and he wore his black rubber boots.

  "Are you ready?" asked Elmer.

  "Jump on!" said the dragon.

  Elmer clambered onto the dragons back and took one last look at Tangerina and the blue and white waves skipping in from the cold ocean onto the sandy beach.

  Chapter Two

  STORM

  They flew all morning, high above the endless blue and white waves. Elmer sat feeling the wind on his face, listening to the whir of the dragon's wings, and watching the compass to make sure they were going in the right direction.

  "I see a rock down there," said the dragon in the late afternoon. "Let's rest a bit."

  "Good idea," said Elmer.

  The dragon circled down to the rock, landing on all four feet. Elmer unpacked eleven tangerines and as he and the dragon ate they watched the sky turn from blue to gray and then to dark gray.

  "Looks like a storm," said Elmer.

  "Yes," said the dragon. "Do you think we'd better wait here or go on?"

  "If the wind's bad, the waves will wash right over this rock," said Elmer. "But if we keep going maybe we can fly away from the storm."

  "Let's hurry on," said the dragon, and up they flew while the waves grew whiter and wilder.

  "I felt a drop of rain," said Elmer, looking up at the blackening sky.

  Suddenly a ferocious wind rushed up from behind, pushing them forward faster and faster. Thunder crackled all around them, and cold hard rain beat down upon them.

  "I wish I had my raincoat," yelled Elmer.

  "I wish it weren't raining!" panted the dragon. "My wings are getting heavy and I can't fly very well. Besides, I hate thunder!"

  The wind blew harder and the rain was colder. Elmer looked at his compass and cried through the rumbling storm, "We're going in the wrong direction!"

  "I can't help it. The wind's too strong. I can't fight against it," screamed the dragon.

  Elmer put away his compass and looked down at the thrashing spray. He could hear the dragon breathing hard, and he watched his wings beating slower and slower. He wondered how long the tired dragon could fly through the crashing storm.

  "I can't go on," puffed the dragon, and he sank through the rain nearer to the cold wild water. Elmer shut his eyes and held on as hard as he could, trying not to cry or think about home.

  "I'm sorry," huffed the dragon, "that I couldn't keep my promise."

  "Oh, that's all right. You did your best," sobbed Elmer.

  And then the dragon sank lower, closer to the water.

  Splash!

  "Elmer, we're safe! I landed on sand!" yelled the dragon. "But don't get off, because the water is up to my knees."

&nb
sp; Elmer opened his eyes and looked around, but it was too dark to see anything. "Are you very uncomfortable?" he screamed above the noise of the storm.

  "It's not too bad," shrieked the dragon, "but I think the water's getting deeper."

  "Gosh, maybe you're sinking in quicksand!"

  "No, I don't think so. Anyway, where else can I go? We'll just have to wait here. Why don't you take a nap? I can sleep standing up, you know."

  "A nap in the middle of the ocean in the middle of a storm?"

  "Why not? There's nothing else to do."

  So Elmer lay down along the dragon's back and they both were so tired that they fell asleep while the thunder boomed all around them.

  "Elmer! Elmer! My stomach's under water," cried the dragon, suddenly waking up an hour later.

  Elmer looked around. The storm was nearly over, but all he could see was drizzly rain and the water lapping against the dragon's stomach. "Poor dragon, would you like a pink lollipop?" asked Elmer, deciding that this was a real emergency.

  "I'd rather have a cup of hot milkweed milk, but I guess a lollipop would help," said the dragon.

  Elmer unpacked one for himself and one for the dragon, and then carefully crawled along the dragons neck until he could put the lollipop into his mouth.

  "It does help a little," shivered the dragon.

  As they were sucking their pink lollipops in the middle of the ocean, the drizzly rain turned into thick, thick fog and then the water began to get shallower.

  "My stomach's out of water again," announced the dragon cheerfully.

  "I know why the water goes up and down!" exclaimed Elmer. "It's the tide, and we're on a sand bar near some land, and just as soon as the fog lifts we'll be able to see what kind of land it is!"

  "I hope it's dry land," said the dragon.

  All night the water got shallower and shallower, and Elmer and the dragon were too excited to sleep. Finally, as the sun rose, even the dragon's feet were out of water, and the fog began to rise.

  Chapter Three

  THE SAND BAR

  The fog rolled along the sand bar and out over the water and suddenly Elmer shouted, "There, behind you! Look at the pretty little green island!"

  "But Elmer, I can't! I can't move. Oh, Elmer, I hurt all over." The dragon grunted and groaned and strained and struggled but he was too stiff to move at all. "Elmer, do you really see dry land, not far off?"

  "Nice near dry green land, and the water's shallow all the way. Are you sure you can't move?"

  "I'll try again. How stupid! I can't even see the land after waiting here for it all night long in the soaking wet water," complained the dragon, glaring at the miles of ocean before him, which was all he could see.

  Elmer walked around to the dragons head and pretended not to notice that he was crying.

  "Elmer, I guess I'm not much of a dragon. A little storm comes along and forces me down, and I stand in a little water for a little while and it makes me so stiff that I can't move a single muscle."

  "That's not at all true," said Elmer. "It was a big storm, and you stood in a lot of cold water for a very long time, and besides, you're only a baby dragon and you're not used to flying long distances. And just as soon as the sun dries you off, you'll be unstiff again. Have another lollipop."

  "Thanks, Elmer."

  "But you'd better get unstiff pretty quick because the tide will come in and you'll be up to your stomach in water again."

  "No, no," whimpered the dragon.

  "Well, I'll hang on your neck and see if it will bend," suggested Elmer. He jumped up and caught the dragon's neck. He dangled for a moment and then both he and the neck thumped down on the sand.

  "Ouch!" groaned Elmer and the dragon.

  "Now, can you see the island between your legs?"

  The dragon carefully curled his head under to look, and then he shouted, "I see it now, Elmer! It's really there. What a lovely little dry island! Now help me limber up my right front leg."

  Elmer pulled very hard on the dragon's right front leg until it would bend. Then he worked on the left back leg, and the left front leg, and the right back leg, and started all over again with the right front leg. At last the dragon could turn around and walk. By now it was hot, and steam rose up all along the dragons back as the sun beat down on his water-soaked wings.

  Elmer started for the island and the dragon hobbled slowly behind. They went along the sand bar as far as they could and then waded into the shallow water. Elmer was still wearing his black rubber boots, but the dragon muttered, "I hate oceans!" as he splashed along stiff-leggedly.

  Finally they came to the pebbly beach of the tiny island. Above them rose a cliff, and green vines hung over the edge, making a pool of shade. Elmer and the dragon sat down and ate fifteen tangerines, leaving forty-three more in the knapsack. "I wonder who lives on this island," said Elmer, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "I think that's a path over there. Come on, let's go exploring."

  "I'm afraid I'll have to rest a while longer," said the dragon. "My wings are still wet and heavy, and I'm awfully hungry. Tangerine peels don't really fill me up, and I'm terribly thirsty, and maybe I'm going to faint."

  "Then you rest here in the shade while I go to look for food and water," said Elmer as he picked up his knapsack and went off to follow the little path.

  Chapter Four

  THE ISLAND

  The path wound between boulders on the beach and then rose steeply through a crack in the cliff. Elmer scrambled up, bracing himself between the rock walls until he could find the next toehold. Just as he thought he could go no farther he found an old log ladder going straight up to the top of the cliff. "Somebody must live here," he thought as he climbed up the last rung and sat down. All around him rose beautiful tall pine trees standing in rows, and he said, "Trees don't grow in rows all by themselves. These pines were planted here by somebody a long time ago."

  Elmer ate four more tangerines, and then started through the pines to look for food and water. At last he came out onto a sloping meadow. He saw a brook winding its way down the slope and he ran to take a long cool drink.

  "The dragon will be happy to see this," he thought. "But I do wish I'd find somebody to tell us where we are and how to get home." He followed the brook up the slope into an old, old apple orchard. Some of the trees had rotted down to stumps, but they had been planted in rows, too. Elmer didn't see anybody anywhere, so he followed the brook back down the slope to a place where it made a pool of clear, cold water. He stooped down for another drink and found an old wooden bucket carved out of the trunk of a tree. "This bucket hasn't been used for many years," he thought as he scraped off the moss and weeds. "Maybe nobody lives here anymore."

  Elmer left the bucket beside the pool and followed the brook through ferns and bushes until it turned into a swamp."Skunk cabbages and ostrich ferns all over the place!" yelled Elmer, who was worried about the hungry, thirsty baby dragon. He quickly pulled up six skunk cabbages and ran back through the bushes to the pool. He dipped the bucket half full, threw in the cabbages, and hurried through the meadow to the pines and the dragon.

  He knew he couldn't go down the ladder with the bucket, so he crawled to the edge of the cliff and peered through the vines. There was the wilted baby dragon, snoring in the shade.

  "Dragon! Dragon! Wake up! I've got water and skunk cabbages for you!"

  The dragon slowly opened one eye and looked up at Elmer. Then he quickly opened the other and said, "Where?"

  "Right here in a bucket. But I can't bring it down to you. You'll have to let me pour the water down your throat. Ready?"

  "Ready," said the dragon, tipping back his head.

  Elmer aimed and poured and the dragon drank. Then Elmer threw down the cabbages one by one, and the dragon caught each cabbage in the air, laughing and crying at the same time because he was so happy and hungry and thirsty.

  "That's all," said Elmer, "but there's lots more up on the island, and ostrich ferns, too. Can you fly up
now?"

  "Ostrich ferns! I'd better be able to fly," said the dragon, stiffly flapping his gold-colored wings. He hobbled along the beach, gave a. little jump, and fluttered up to the top of the cliff. "I'm not the dragon I used to be," he panted, "but I'll get you home yet, Elmer. Don't you worry about that."

  "Oh, I know you will. I'm not the least bit worried," said Elmer, although he had secretly hoped to find people on the island, and a boat going home, and all sorts of good things to eat.

  Chapter Five

  FLUTE, THE CANARY

  Elmer and the dragon rested awhile on top of the cliff, watching the waves spreading out over the sand bar. Suddenly a little voice chirped, "You're Elmer Elevator, aren't you?"

  Elmer was too startled to answer.

  "Aren't you? Of course, it has been three years, and people do change."

  Elmer looked all around but he couldn't see anybody. "Yes, I'm Elmer, but who and where are you?" he asked.

  "Look up in the tree above you. It's me, Flute."

  Elmer and the dragon looked up and there he was, Flute the canary—funny little Flute with two black eyebrows and one black feather in each wing.

  "Oh, Flute! How glad I am to see you. But how did you get here?"

  "I flew here the day you let me out of my cage when your mother went to answer the doorbell. This is where all the escaped canaries live—Feather Island, we call it. But what on earth are you doing here?"

  "Well, I just rescued this baby dragon, and he was flying me home, only we got caught in a storm and landed here instead. And now he's got to rest and get plenty of food and water before we can go on."

  "Does he eat canaries?"

  "I should say not!" snorted the dragon. "Only fruits and vegetables and lollipops."