Elmer Elevator, the narrator's father, brings an old alley cat home. Elmer's mother becomes angry about the cat, throws the cat out the door, and whips Elmer. Elmer sneaks out and finds the cat. Elmer says he'd do anything if he could fly. The cat replies that if Elmer likes flying, he knows a way. The cat describes a place called Wild Island and relates he saw something on Wild Island that made him want to weep.
In the previous chapter, the cat relates to Elmer that he once saw something on Wild Island that made him want to weep. In this chapter, the cat tells Elmer about Wild Island. Wild Island is cut in two by a river. The lazy animals hate having to walk around the river, and the crocodiles that swim in the river refuse to help the other animals cross. Long ago, a baby dragon fell on the riverbank of Wild Island. The animals tied the baby dragon up and made him fly them across the river day and night. The cat became the dragon's friend, but the cat could not undo the thick rope tied to the dragon. The cat promised to return and help the dragon. Elmer agrees to run away to Wild Island and help the dragon escape. Elmer packs many things for the trip, including chewing gum, two dozen pink lollipops, a package of rubber bands, black rubber boots, a compass, a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, six magnifying glasses, a sharp jackknife, a comb and a hairbrush, seven hair ribbons of different colors, an empty grain bag with a label saying "Cranberry," and other things. Elmer sneaks on a ship and sails away to Tangerina.
In the last chapter, Elmer sneaks on a ship to travel to Cranberry on the Island of Tangerina. In this chapter, Elmer hides in the ship hold with bags of wheat for six days. When they are near Cranberry, and will unload the wheat, Elmer hides in his grain bag labeled 'Cranberry.' The sailors unload Elmer, thinking his bag is a bag of corn on the cob. Once onshore, Elmer sneaks out of the bag. He sleeps, and when he awakens is hit by a tangerine dropping from a tree overhead. He picks and eats tangerines and starts his journey to find the bridge of rocks that links Tangerina and Wild Island. By the time he finds the rocks, it is very dark. He puts on his rubber boots and crosses the rocks. At one point, Elmer accidentally steps on a whale, but the whale doesn't awaken. He crosses the rocks and reaches Wild Island.
In the last chapter, Elmer reaches Wild Island. In this chapter, Elmer walks along the beach to find the river, knowing the dragon is tied next to the river. He at some tangerines and slept in some grass. A little mouse sees Elmer's knapsack, thinks it is a weird rock, and runs off to tell someone. Elmer continues down the beach. It is dark and two tortoises see him and mistakenly think he is a monkey carrying his sick grandmother to the doctor's. He almost runs into two boars. The boars believe their island has been invaded by someone from Tangerina. The mouse has reported the strange 'rock', and they've found the tangerine peels Elmer has dropped. Tangerines do not grow on Wild Island. Elmer continues, picking up his tangerine peels after that.
In the last chapter, Elmer encounters a mouse, two tortoises, and two boars before finding the river. The animals have found his tangerine peels and suspect someone has invaded their island. In this chapter, Elmer puts on his boots and starts walking along the river. The river bank becomes too swampy and Elmer wades to a drier place, but now he can't see the river. He takes out his compass and uses it to keep walking in the same direction. Unfortunately, Elmer doesn't know that the river takes a sharp turn, and he walks deeper into the jungle, away from the river. Elmer runs into seven hungry tigers, who want to eat him. Elmer gives the tigers chewing gum from his knapsack, and tells them if they chew it long enough it will turn green. He also tells them if they plant the green gum, it will grow more chewing gum. As the tigers chew the gum and look into each other's mouths, Elmer sneaks away.
In the last chapter, Elmer loses the river and avoids being gives seven hungry tigers chewing gum to avoid being eaten up. In this chapter, Elmer finds a trail and follows it, hoping it will lead to the dragon. He almost runs into the boars again, but hides behind a tree in time. He stops to drink from a brook and is picked up by the seat of the pants and shaken. Something scolds him for drinking from his private weeping pool. The something also says he weeps over the color of his tusk. Elmer sees it is a rhinoceros. He scrubs the Rhino's tusk with his toothbrush and toothpaste and the tusk whitens. The Rhino grabs the toothbrush and toothpaste and scrubs his own tusk, and Elmer slips away. Elmer overhears one of the boars asking the Rhino where he got the toothbrush and muttering about the invasion. The boars are hot on Elmer's trail.
In the last chapter, Elmer helped a Rhinoceros whiten his yellow tusk with a toothbrush and toothpaste. The boars are hot on his tail. In this chapter, Elmer encounters a lion with a tangled mane. Elmer convinces the Lion not to eat him by giving him some hair ribbons, a brush, and a comb. Elmer shows the lion how to braid his mane. The lion is so busy grooming his mane, he doesn't notice Elmer slip away.
In the last chapter, Elmer helped a Lion groom his mane by giving him ribbons, a brush, and a comb. In this chapter, Elmer encounters a gorilla. The gorilla want to interrogate Elmer, but becomes distracted by all the flees biting him. The gorilla calls out for six monkeys, who come and begin picking the fleas off him. The monkeys can't find all the fleas, so Elmer gives the monkeys six magnifying glasses from his knapsack. Elmer sneaks away as the monkeys use the magnifying glasses to pluck off the gorilla's fleas.
In the last chapter, Elmer helps six monkeys groom the gorilla by giving the monkeys six magnifying glasses. In this chapter, Elmer finds the river crossing where the dragon flies, but the dragon is on the other side of the river. A crocodile in the river invites Elmer in to go swimming, because the crocodile wants to eat something sweet. Elmer offers to fasten lollipops to the tails of the crocodiles in the river. He instructs them to line up across the river. He begins to cross the backs of the crocodiles, fastening lollipops with rubber bands to crocodile tails, as he goes.
In the last chapter, Elmer begins crossing the river on the backs of the crocodiles by fastening lollipops to their tails. In this chapter, all the animals Elmer has met catch up with him. The animals realize Elmer wants to steal their dragon and are very angry. Elmer jumps off the last crocodile onto the opposite shore. The dragon runs out of the bushes, excited to be rescued. Elmer takes a jackknife out of his pack and begins cutting the rope around the dragon. The other animals start across the crocodile bridge to get Elmer and the dragon. The crocodiles, being moody and disagreeable, break up the bridge and swim down the river, carrying animals on their backs. Elmer and the dragon fly up into the sky where they are safe from the animals.
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