Ch1
We are introduced to Billy a young 10 year old boy whom is very poor. Billy wants to hounds but hounds cost a bunch of money so he asks his parents, they both give him the same reason why he may not have the two hounds. They both tell him that two hound would cost about $90 which they do not have. Billy is very angered about this and decides to ask again and again if he can have them he always gets the same answer "there to much money!"
Ch2
Billy is still asking about the dogs, he keeps getting said no, Billy is very sad at this point. Because he wants to hunt so badly his father gives him three traps. The traps seem to only catch their cat Samie. Samie is then changed into a new kind of cat whom is very aware and always freaked out. Billy tells his father about this at dinner and his father says he may help him in the barn in the morning Billy is very pleased by this.
Ch3
Billy finds a very great add that says "1 Hound costs $25". So he makes a plan to sell things he hunts. He asks his grandfather if he would order his two hounds once he has the $50 his grandfather is shocked at how cheap the hounds will be and says yes. Two years after he finds they add he finally has $50 he takes it to his grandfather but it has been two years since the ad was published. Luckily they are still around his grandfather then says he shall order them and gives Billy a sack full of candy from his shop he heads home and when he arrives he shares it with his sisters.
Ch4
Billy goes to Pennsylvania so he can pick up his two hounds. He heads out at night and arrives hours later tired and dirty. Apon arriving people start to look and mutter things into each others ears as he shall walk by. After he has had enough of all of the trash talk he goes to were his dogs are being kept.
Ch5
Billy finally gets his dogs and goes to leave upon walking he gets into a fight with a higher-class boy and his friends. The city Marshall helps him and gives him a soda sending him on his way. Late at night he is tired and the two hounds are whimpering so he arrives at a cave to sleep away. Later that night they are visited by a mountain lion Billy is terribly frightened but his two hounds scare it off.
Ch6
Billy goes back home he is surprised he is not in trouble. He then tells his family about his adventure and what he thinks about the big town. Billy also decides the names of his two hounds the male is big and muscular so he names him Old Dan the girl hound is the runt of the litter so he names her Little Ann
Ch7
Billy is very pleased but there is one thing that keeps him from training his dogs to hunt a coon skin. To find out how to get one he goes to his grandfathers store and asks him. His grandfather tells him a simple way and also provides the supplies for the trap. Billy sets up the traps and within a week he traps a big coon. Unfortunately Old Dan has gotten a decent size cut on his nose. Soon he skins the coon and starts to train his hounds.
Ch8
Billy decides to go out for hunting season which will be the first hunting season he has done. His mother and father are worried that he will get hurt. On the first night of hunting season Old Dan throws a fit but soon he gets his hounds to help him find a tree with a coon inside of it problem is the tree is very big and tall. Soon after trying to figure out how to get the coon out his father shows up to help him. Pretty soon he decides to try to cut down the tree.
Ch9
Billy is still trying to cut down the big Sycamore Tree but fails to do so, he cannot cute it down and he cannot leave it there because if he chooses to do so he might loose the coon. His grandfather shows up sees the tree and makes sure the coon can not get out. He goes home and his mother tells him "You should just let the coon go" Billy responds with saying "I cannot I have gone way to far to just let the coon go". He soon gives up on trying to get the coon but Little Ann gets the coon and kills it Billy then realizes he has been helped.
Ch10
Billy's mother makes him a cap out of the skin of the coon he caught. He is also starting to share his stories and experiences with fellow hunters at his grandfathers store.
Ch11
Billy Old Dan and Little Ann go hunting again. Sadly little Ann falls in the river which is almost frozen solid from the snow storm they had. Billy tries to get close to her but he realizes that he cannot get close enough Old Dan is by Little Ann's side trying to keep her calm Billy gets a stick and raises her out of the water put latching onto her collar.
Ch12
Billy makes a $2 bet that his dogs can tree the Ghost Coon. His grandfather gives Billy the money and explains the rules to the three boys. Later that day Billy meets the boys near the are where the Ghost Coon lives. Soon they chase the Ghost Coon but after hours the chase is still going on.
Ch13
Still chasing the Ghost Coon the hound trap it into a tree. Billy tries to find where in the tree the Ghost Coon is but cannot find it anywhere. They finally realize the Ghost Coon is in a hollow limb. But Billy cannot and will not kill the Ghost Coon. Billy asks for the $4 but the oldest boy refuses to give it to him. After the oldest boy refuses to give him the $4 a dog fight happens and the oldest boy pulls out Billy's ax to kill Billy's hounds and to keep their dog alive. Sadly the boy falls on the ax which is now in his stomach. Billy out of guilt takes the ax out of the boy and then the boy dies. Billy's father delivers the news to the boys family and they say they will take care of it.
Ch14
Billy explains what had happened to his grandfather. After that his grandfather says he has entered him in a coon hunting completion to win a gold cup. His grandfather tells him to see if his father is interested in going so he leaves to ask with more candy. His father responds with a yes as his mother is talking Billy realizes she is pregnant. They get ready and head out to the competition.
Ch15
Billy and his father plus his grandfather decide to stop at the side of the road to rest. They go to bed and Billy is worried because he has heard to screech owls. This has to do with a myth that says if you hear two you will have bad luck. They soon get to the campground after they unpack Billy enters Little Ann in to a competition to see which dog is the prettiest. Little Ann ends up winning a silver cup after that Billy finds out he will be hunting on the fourth night.
Ch16
Billy goes hunting with the judge he is assigned and his family. He catches 2 coons and he also qualifies for the finals. As the finals begin to start Old Dan and Little Ann find a coon trial.
Ch17
Billy the judge his dogs and his family get caught in a horrible storm. They loose track of the dogs and try to find them. They soon find Little Ann and continue looking for Old Dan. They soon find him but now they have lost grandpa. They finds him laying unconscious they soon awaken him and they cut down a tree which has three coons in it. The hounds catch 2 and they chase the third which makes the hounds lost again.
Ch18
Billy and his family go back to the campground to get his grandfather medical attention from his slip. After they do this they find the hounds and Billy realizes he has won he gets the gold cup and $300. They then leave to go back to there home and tell there family.
Ch19
Billy and his hounds get in a really terrible fight with a big mountain lion. Old Dan get a really bad cute from the beast's claws and is in terrible pain so Billy carries him to his house. Billy's mother sews up the dogs wounds but sadly he has lost to much blood he looks at Billy and dies with his eyes closed. Little Ann has lost the will to live because of grief she will not eat so Billy has to force stuff into her mouth. She dies laying on top of Old Dan's grave.
Ch20
Billy packs up to move so they get their buggy full and start to head out. Billy goes to see his dog's graves for one last time and notices a red fern growing in between the lumps. Soon he leaves but he will never forget the spot where the red fern grows.
