Where the Red Fern Grows

One night, Little Ann gets into a “predicament” while out hunting in a deep fall of fresh snow. Billy is determined to take his dogs out in spite of the icy weather that has been plaguing the mountains for days. As Old Dan and Little Ann begin chasing a raccoon toward the river, Billy excitedly anticipates how they’ll outsmart the many tricks the raccoon will surely play in an attempt to disguise its snowy tracks. Billy, however, also remembers something Grandpa told him: “When the nights are dark and the ground is frozen and slick, [raccoons] can pull some mean tricks [that] can be fatal.” 

As Billy follows his dogs down to the river, he loses track of their voices. He calls to them and waits for them to howl or bawl back, but in spite of his whoops, he receives no answer. Down at the river, Billy realizes that the water is partially frozen and he gets an uneasy feeling.  Halfway across the stream, he hears a gurgling and he notices that the water in the middle of the river is still running. Billy walks down the riverbank until he hears Old Dan—but rather than bawling to announce he’s caught the scent of a raccoon, Dan is letting out a horrible long cry. Soon, Billy comes upon Dan out on the ice pack with his tail tucked between his legs. Billy instantly knows that something is wrong with Little Ann.

Billy realizes that Little Ann probably slipped into the icy water while trying to leap from one frozen section of the river to the other in pursuit of the raccoon. Billy knows that he must do something to save Little Ann. He runs toward the sound of her cries and whines, using a stick of wild cane as a lantern pole to better see where Little Ann is. As he catches sight of her clinging to the ice along the far bank with her front paws, Billy breaks down in tears himself. Billy attempts to go out onto the ice toward Little Ann but he falls through into the freezing water. He drags himself out and he rushes back to the bank, fearing all is lost.

Billy is just about to give up and head for home, leaving Ann for dead. He prays for God to help him once more. Soon, he hears the peculiar sound of metal hitting metal. As he realizes that the handle of his lantern has fallen from an upright position to clang against the side of itself, he suddenly understands what he must do. After prying off the handle and bending a hook in one end, he affixes the metal handle to the cane using a shoelace. Billy strips naked and he wades into the icy water—able to touch the bottom of the river with his feet—while holding the hook out in front of him and attempting to hook Ann’s collar. Eventually, Billy catches hold of Ann and he drags her back across the rushing river.

Once Billy has Ann back on land, he wraps her in his coat and he builds a fire. He massages the life and warmth back into Ann’s frigid limbs, and soon she’s is ready to head for home. On the way back to the house, Billy spots the giant sycamore and he says a prayer of thanks to the “miracle” of the lantern which saved Ann’s life. Back at home, Billy catches a cold and is stuck in bed for several days. While convalescing, Billy asks his mother about prayer one afternoon. He asks her if every prayer offered up to God is answered. Mama replies that only ones that come “from the heart” are heard. She asks Billy what made him curious, but Billy, afraid to tell his mother about the incident with Little Ann, says he was just wondering.