Where The Red Fern Grows

by Wilson Rawls
 "Where The Red Fern Grows", written by Wilson Rawls, is a
very exciting adventure story. It traces the life of a
young boy, Billy Coleman who lives in the Ozark Mountains
of Oklahoma. His main ambition is to train hound dogs to
hunt. This interest was sparked by stories that his
grandfather told. 
In order to achieve his goal, Billy works for two years to
save enough money to buy two coon dogs. He trains them
with great skill and they ultimately become the finest
hunting team in the area. Old Dan and Little Ann, his two
faithful dogs, lead Billy to his proudest moment when they
win the gold cup in the annual coon hunting contest. This
joy was short lived when Old Dan is involved in a bitter
fight with a bobcat and looses his life. Little Ann is
stricken with immense grief over the loss of her companion
that she too dies. In his efforts to deal with the death of
his beloved dogs, Billy digs the graves himself and buries
them among the "red" ferns.