Today I want to talk about a book called Where the Red Fern Grows,by Wilson Rawls. This book was really awesome; in my opinion, Mr. Rawls was very good at describing the delicate emotions of both people and dogs.
This book is mainly a story between people and dogs. The hero of the story, Billy, has wanted to own two little dogs since he was ten. He doesn’t want two normal dogs, but rather two red hounds that are too expensive for his family to afford. In order to buy his dogs, Billy spends two years collecting the money cent by cent. Finally, he buys himself his own two little red hounds through his grandpa’s help, which he names Old Dan and Little Ann. Unfortunately, Old Dan dies after protecting Billy from a fierce lion, and Little Ann is so sad after Old Dan’s death that she dies soon after. At last, Billy and his family decide to move to another place, but before they leave, Billy wants say goodbye to his two little dogs. When he reaches their graves, he finds there are red ferns growing between the two gravestones, growing at an angle, according to the old story.
My favorite part of the book was the process by which Billy tried his best to earn the money to buy his dogs. Maybe most people will be touched by the part where he must say goodbye to them, or where Old Dan protects his owner, but the part where Billy collected the money impressed me most. At that time, Billy’s dream was to have his own two cute red hounds, and in order to achieve his dream, he helped his grandpa to pick blackberries, caught crawfish with his hands, trapped minnows, and so on. He spent two years, without buying himself any candy, to earn the money he needed to pay for his dream. I was impressed by his strong desire for two hounds and the courage and power he showed in making his wish come true.
I also felt pleased with Billy’s grandpa, for when he heard that Billy spent two years collecting the money and didn’t use the money to buy other things he wanted, he cared for him and gave him some sweets. I once read an article written by a Chinese author who said that when she was young, her best friend wanted to own a beautiful white dress, but her family was too poor to buy one for her. So, her friend collected empty plastic bottles from the roads in order to sell them and get the money to buy the dress. She worked so hard that her feet were swollen, since she was too poor to have a pair of shoes. But later, when she gave her mother the money to buy the dress, her mother used the money to buy herself a basket of eggs instead, since she was pregnant. So, when I read that Billy’s grandpa didn’t spend the money on himself but rather helped Billy and told him not to tell his father about the money, I was very touched.
All in all, this is a great book, which explores the moving relationship between owner and pets, and the love between people. At the end of the book, though Billy never went back to his hometown, he believed that Old Dan and Little Ann were still there, with the red fern growing at an angle between their graves.