Where the Red Fern Grows Chapters 16-20 – Round 3

Chapter 16 Why did the contestants decide to move a few miles downstream? What is meant by “strike a trail”? Why is the judge so impressed with Billy’s hounds? How many coons did the hounds catch? Explain how the two dogs doctored one another.   The contestants wanted to get away from the already hunted areas. The dogs will pick up the scent of a raccoon. Billy’s hounds do not give up and have relentless determination. They caught 3 coons. Old Dan and Little Ann licked each others wounds to clean them and stop the bleeding while the hunters and judge waited for them to be done.

Chapter 17 Describe the opening scene of the chapter. How do we know that Billy is a brave and determined boy? Describe what happened to Grandpa.   How did Billy warm Grandpa’s injury? Describe the scene at the end of the chapter. There is an eerie sky and clouds are looming. There is going to be a storm. Billy wants to continue hunting when the storm arrives, even though a man could die in a storm that severe. Grandpa fell and injured his ankle. He was unable to walk. Who found Grandpa? Billy kept hold the raccoon hide to the fire to warm it and then wrapped the hide around Grandpa’s ankle. The hunters are all sitting around a campfire during the storm and Billy is tending to Grandpa.

Chapter 18 How were the dogs found? What were they doing? What did Billy win? Be specific. What did Billy do with his prizes? How did Billy’s mom feel about the dogs after the championship coon hunt? Explain how you know this The dogs, covered in ice, were running circles around the tree. Billy won a gold cup for winning the hunt and a box of money ($300) which was the bet that the hunters made. He also won a silver cup for Little Ann and the beauty contest. Billy gave the cups to his sisters and the box of money to his parents. Mama brought food to the dogs in the doghouse. She knelt down in prayer while Billy watched from his room. Then he saw mama and papa holding each other looking at the dogs and mama began to cry.

Chapter 19 What is the “devil cat” of the Ozarks?   How does Billy finally kill the big cat? How do the dogs prove their loyalty to Billy? What does Billy discover when he examines the dogs after the fierce battle? Explain what happens to Old Dan and Little Ann after Billy takes them home. Write about the feelings and emotions that you felt immediately after reading chapter 19. The devil cat is a mountain lion. Billy finally drives the axe through the shoulder blades of the lion’s back. They come together and rise up as one in front of the mountain lion before it attacks Billy. Old Dan has been wounded on his underbelly. After Billy brought the dogs home, Old Dan died, and Little Ann was heart broken. Little Ann died of a broken heart. She wouldn’t eat or drink. She died on his grave. Who do you think had the worse death?

Chapter 20 What does Billy see when he goes to say goodbye to his dogs? Retell the Indian legend of the red fern.   How does adult Billy feel about the Ozarks? A beautiful red fern had grown between the dog’s grave. There was an Indian girl and boy who got trapped in a blizzard. They died together and when they were found in the spring, there was a beautiful red fern that grew between them. That place was said to be sacred forever. He would like to go back to the Ozarks and roam the woods, look for the red fern and relive his childhood memories.

Themes Loyalty Determination Money Growth into a man The “unseen power” Billy going to get his dogs. Protecting the girl pup. Billy getting the raccoon from the first tree. Little Ann to Old Dan (Muskrat Den). Old Dan to Little Ann (river). Dogs and the mountain lion. Graves. Billy to get money for his dogs. When he went to get his dogs in Tahlequah. Cutting down the big tree. Hunting in the championship hunt. Parents didn’t have money for dogs. Money for coonskins. Money for the hunt (prizes and entering). Money to move to the town. Muscles on his back to help with the farm. Hunting at night with his dogs. Going on the coon hunt. Coffee. Talking with the hunters at Grandpa’s shop. Names for his dogs. The wind when he fell the big tree. The lantern when Little Ann was in her predicament. Billy’s dogs dying so the family would not be split up. The red fern.