Only a visit to the dentist could help the alligator, Alli's painful toothache. And so with sinking heart and bus fare provided by the zoo director, Alli boards the bus only to find it going in the wrong direction. He winds up enjoying the hospitality of Little Boy who convinces him that a trip to his father's office is entirely painless. The outlandish idea of a cowardly alligator with a toothache will buttress the courage of his human counterparts on future dental safaris.