Where the Red Fern Grows Short Summary

This is a novel for children written by the author Wilson Rawls. It got published in 1961. “Where the Red Fern Grows” is a story about a young boy who has a quest of having his very own hunting dogs. It is set in Oklahoma where the boy grew up.

The novel starts with grown author flashing back to his childhood. He wanted two Redbone Coonhounds. However, his family could not afford it. Billy decides to find his way. He saves money for two years, and he buys two of them. They turn out to be what he expected, and he names them Little Ann and Old Dan. The latter is stubborn but brave and Little Ann is quite smart but tiny.

Billy becomes inseparable with his dogs. He takes them hunting for most of the book, and he sells some of the spoils such as raccoon skins and then gives the money to his father. He did not care about money, and he wanted to hunt. Billy gets a reputation of owner of the best dogs for hunting. His grandfather enters him into a hunting competition, and Billy wins it.

One day during hunting, Billy encounters a mountain lion. His dogs protect him and kill it, but Old Dan is injured and dies. Sometime later, Little Ann stops eating and dies too apparently from the loss of Old Dan.

Billy’s family had now gathered enough money from the hunts to relocate to town. Billie and his siblings could now get some education. Billy does not care about school and misses his dogs. He even starts doubting God.

Billy visits the gravesites of his dogs and notices a red fern sprouting between the graves. It symbolized sacred ground, and their culture believed that only angels could plant it. Billy gets his faith back.