Where the Red Fern Grows Essay -- Essays Papers

Where the Red Fern Grows Billy Colman is hard working and determined ten-year-old boy who lives in the Ozark Mountains. He lives with his mother, father, and two sisters, in a log house near the Illinois River. Billy loves to hunt and explore the hills and river bottoms and dreams of one day owning his own coon hounds. His family is poor, and cannot afford to buy animals. One day while exploring an old fishermen’s camp, Billy found a magazine with an advertisement offering a pair of Redbone Coonhound pups for $50.00. By saving his money from selling fruit and bait to fishermen, Billy saved the money he needed to buy the pups. When it was time to get the puppies, Billy walked the 20 miles to town to get them. On his way home he stopped for the night in a cave. There he saw the names Dan and Ann carved on a tree and decided to name the puppies Dan and Little Ann. With the help of his grandfather, Billy learned to trap a coon so that he could use the hide to train his new pups. Using information he gathered from listening to the stories of old coon hunters, Billy taught his dogs everything he could. By the time hunting season arrived he and his dogs were ready. Dan was a strong dog and ready to fight and Little Ann proved to be the brains of the team. Dan and Little Ann treed their first coon in the biggest sycamore tree around. Poor Billy had told his dogs to â€Å"just put one up a tree and I’ll do the re...