Story of a sleepy alligator-taxi names Monty who has an important job. Each day Arthur the frog, Doris the duck, and Tom the rabbit ride on Monty's back across the river to and from school. The three friends complain about Monty's wobbling his speed, and anything else they can think of all the way there and all the way back. One day, Monty decides to take an alligator vacation from his three friends who are left to find their own way across the river

The Hans Christian Andersen classic is given present-day relevance and an upbeat ending in this story of Angela, a homeless child who sells matchsticks to survive.