Plot Summary of Wilson Rawls’ Where The Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows is a very good book. I would rate this book a 9/10 because it was super interesting but there were a few parts that were very confusing and boring. It was about a boy named Billy and his 2 hunting hounds and his adventures with his beloved dogs living their eventful lives.

Billy is overcome suddenly for a longing for hunting dogs. After working for months to earn 50 dollars to buy 2 dogs he finally orders them with the help of his grandfather. He walks over 50 miles to the nearest city to pick them up. Since that moment, he loved his dogs more than anything. Old Dan and Little Ann, his new dogs, quickly become naturals after barely being trained. Billy and his dogs determination let them become notorious for being the best coon hunters across the land. They had to overcome many challenges while hunting, for example, one evening, Billy and his dogs were trailing a coon across the river when the coon began to push Old Dan down in the freezing cold water. Little Ann went to help but wasn’t strong enough. After the coon escaped, Old Dan was stuck in the mud under water. Billy knew that time was running out and he came up with the most outrageous plan ever, put the lantern handle on a stick to pull Old Dan out of the mud. Just the little bit of extra length from the lantern ended up saving Old Dan. Obstacles like these strengthened the pups and Billy’s relationship.

One day, his grandpa decided to enter him into a coon hunting tournament. Billy, his father, his grandpa, and his pups headed off for 2 days to the campground. The day they arrived, they had a beauty contest. Billy decided to enter Little Ann. With short notice, Billy didn’t have much time to clean her up but he tried his best. The competition went down to 2 dogs, a much bigger hound, and Little Ann. After one final decision, the judges handed Billy a small silver cup for winning.

The hunting tournament had 4 groups go out each night for 5 nights. Billy was the 4th night and captured 4 coons. The next night, another team captured 4 coons as well. The next night Billy and his opponent went out for a tiebreaker. Billy, his family, their judge, and his dogs headed out. After retrieving 2 coons, a heavy snowstorm started up. During this, you could hardly see or hear anything because of the wind. But Old Dan’s determination kept them going. Soon, they couldn’t find the pups and got very worried. Everyone was telling Billy to give up on his dogs but he wouldn’t. Billy prayed for God to give him an idea. Billy suddenly got an idea from Him. They kept firing the Gun for his dogs to know their location. They finally found Little Ann but Old Dan kept the stubborn coon’s trail. Little Ann directed them a few miles to Old Dan and found him barking up a tree. They fired the gun but instead of 1 coon coming out of the tree, 3 coons appeared! They got 2 but 1 got away. After they skinned them, they realised that grandpa wasn’t with them. They searched for at least an hour until they found him lying on the ground with a broken ankle, unconscious. They brought him and the coons back to the camp and found out that the other hunter had only got 2 coons and came in early because of the storm. Billy and his dogs had won. The next morning, he received a gold cup and large amount of cash.

After they got back, Billy and his pups continued to hunt but one night, they caught a trail and treed it. Billy heard a growl and realised that it was a bobcat. He had killed bobcats before and wasn’t too worried. But then he realised something else, the large eyes staring right into his. Immediately he knew it was a mountain lion. He had never fought a mountain lion and knew they were very dangerous so he tried to call back his dogs but they were too determined to get this one. It pounced and the fight began, Old Dan went at it immediately with the help off Little Ann. Billy joined in soon with his axe. The mountain lion shook free of the dogs and dove right at Billy. Billy waited for it to hit but Old Dan jumped in front of him to save his life just in time. Billy soon killed it with his axe. Old Dan was very injured and took him home immediately. Mama tried to keep him alive but his intestines were damaged and he couldn’t stop bleeding. Old Dan took his last breath in front of Billy. He and Little Ann were devastated. Billy soon dug him a grave and buried him up on a hill. After, Little Ann wouldn’t eat and became too weak to walk because of her best friend’s death. 2 days after Old Dan’s death, Billy found Little Ann lifeless laying next to her partner’s grave. There, Billy buried her as well.

Months later, Billy went up to say goodbye to his beloved dogs before they moved to the city and saw a red fern tree growing on the ground above their bodies. There was an ancient legend that the red fern was the most spiritual and honorable natural monument. Billy wasn’t sad anymore now that he knew his dogs caused this miracle.