Elmer and the Flood

Just when you think there can’t possibly be another Elmer story, one comes along which picks up on another aspect of the patchwork pachyderm’s personality. Here he works together with his conventionally coloured colleagues to rescue Young Elephant (Young being his first name as well as his age) from being stranded on an island in the receding flood, a rescue which means Elmer can secure a bit of peace and quiet for himself after being holed up in a cave with the other elephants for days sheltering from the rain and enduring their bad jokes. There are the usual scenes of Elmer wandering through the technicolour jungle and meeting its animals, which, in this case, includes a flotilla of ducks enjoying the weather; and, once more, Elmer demonstrates not only his unique ability to solve problems on behalf of the community but also to turn any trickery to his own advantage. But, at the end, in a scene that demonstrates his singularity in the jungle world, he chooses to remain in grateful solitude, instead of enjoying the big final celebration familiar from so many of the books.