Ha, the growth of children is really an interesting process. When their nerves are highly concentrated, they become very sensitive, and any test for them at this time will be a harvest. How did success come easily? You don't know what is really sweet until you taste the bitter fruit.
Finally, as Dad said, it takes time for the smell of horseshoe nails paved by Billy to dissipate. A week later, he finally caught a raccoon. "It squatted on the maple stump, hunched over, bared its teeth, one front paw kept shaking, and the other front paw was deeply stuck in the small hole. Curiosity trapped it. " Oh, poor raccoon, after all, he was attracted by bright tin sheets. The weakness of animals is well known to mankind!
With this raccoon skin, Billy's training plan is proceeding in an orderly way. "I used raccoon skin to leave a trail of smell to guide them." "I also tied raccoon skin to a long pole with barbed wire, held it over the top of the fence, danced in the air for a while, and then held it about twenty or thirty feet off the ground." "With that raccoon skin, I did all the actions that raccoons can do, and maybe there are still many actions that raccoons can't do." "In order to learn more raccoon hunting skills, I often go to grandpa's grocery store to listen to raccoon catchers telling stories. Some stories are long and bizarre, and I believe they are true. "
Little Billy is smart and brave, and he has never been a daredevil. Lao Dan and Ann grew up rapidly under Billy's careful cultivation, and the deep affection between them was built up bit by bit. "When I have intimate communication with them, they always seem to understand my mind. What a wonderful thing. " Who said that communication must require language, and sometimes language is redundant? If you read the emotional connection between man and animals, you will know that "intimate communication" transcends language and species.
The first hunting was really thrilling! "The night is quiet and cool, the moon is high, and the whole Oshak mountain area is bathed in soft silver light. The starry sky above my head reminds me of that huge blue umbrella. " "In the moonlight, the tall maple trees around shine like white ribbons. A weasel who came out to feed quietly climbed by the river, with round little red eyes shining with ghost fire. "
What a beautiful scenery, it often appears in the later narrative, which is invisible in our children's real life. Classic works are really nutritious. Children are moved by the story, but they can also feel the picturesque scenery in the background of the story, and all this is conveyed through magical words. Therefore, reading classic children's literature works is a meaningful thing for children's growth!
Entering the hunting area, the two hounds quickly found their target. Although it was a scene that Billy had been waiting for for for a long time, when "Old Dan's deep voice broke the silence around him, I threw down my axe and almost slipped the lantern from my hand. I was panting and tried to call the hound, but the accident happened. My throat was like a knot, and I swallowed it hard several times before the knot disappeared. "
What a delicate description, let us feel the tension and excitement of Little Billy hunting with Lao Dan and Ann for the first time. As teachers, we often arrange "my first time" for our children. Recalling that our children's boring "first time" stems from their boring life, if every child can have rich adventure experiences, will it be so difficult to write?
At first, people suspected that Lao Dan and Ann would be fooled by the cunning raccoon, but Billy was wrong. These are really two good hounds. Their nature and instinct make them full of wisdom, and they are brave and invincible when hunting prey. Besides, these are two different hounds, which have been proved again and again in hunting. Lao Dan's perseverance, Xiao An's sensitive nose, agile body and persistent pursuit of prey make them two hounds.
The difficulty of the first hunting concentrated on the largest maple tree in the valley. Billy didn't want to betray the trust of Lao Dan and Ann, so he decided to cut down the giant tree and successfully killed the raccoon that Lao Dan and Ann rushed to the tree. But the process of cutting down trees is extremely difficult, which is another difficult experience in Billy's life. "In my memory, I can climb almost all the trees, but this time I can only look at the trees and sigh. It will take a few days to cut them down. "
God, it takes days to cut down a tree. What a stout tree it is. How did Billy do it? The appearance of "Ann a face of injustice, walked to come over, with tail, dare not look at me. Old Dan walked slowly behind the maple tree and looked at me secretly. The message conveyed by his friendly eyes broke my heart: you said that all we had to do was chase the raccoon up the tree and leave the rest to you. "
This is the first test of trust between Lao Dan, Ann and Billy. Billy knew its importance and couldn't bear to see the disappointment in their eyes. "I looked at the tall maple trees with tears in my eyes and said angrily,' No matter how tall you are, I won't let the hounds down. I'm going to act! I'll cut you off, even if it takes a year. "
From what we know about little Billy, I'm afraid he's really going to cut it for a year this time! Set goals, not just shout slogans. The largest maple tree in this forest is not so easy to fall down. Billy had a good start, but after two hours, "my arms seem to have turned into two dry vines, and my strength has been drained." After all, I am a child and my strength is running out. What should I do?
Billy won't give up easily. After a short rest, he continued to cut down trees until he was "stiff, numb and unable to move". At this time, his father failed to convince Billy, so he had to ask his sister to send him food. After eating the food, Billy has the strength to continue cutting down trees. The muscles in Billy's legs and arms kept twitching. I feel chest tightness, my lungs seem to be burning, and I am tired all over. I can't cut any more. "At this moment, grandpa came. He wants to make a dummy to help scare raccoons in the tree. After a night's rest, Billy continued to cut down the tree, but the maple did not fall down as soon as the reader expected.
Billy, who cut down trees for another day, "feels like a needle in his palm." I almost cried when I found blisters on my hands. Blisters changed from the first one to two, and then emerged one after another, like small white glass balls, covering the whole palm, with a hint of reddish paleness. The blisters are worn out, and the only thing I can do is to hold back my voice. I tore the towel in half and wrapped it in my hand. At first, the towel relieved the pain. However, when the towel sticks to the bloody meat, I know the pain will start again. "
At this time, besides feeling sorry for little Billy, I also saw a growing teenager. Only when people experience suffering can they know how to think.
After the tree finally fell, the first hunting was a great success. "At dusk, I walked home slowly, and words like pride and pride kept coming to my mind. This feeling is great! " I think, no pain can be replaced by others, and no happiness can really be shared with others. Happiness after suffering and pain is so precious. Only Billy who has really experienced it deserves this precious thing.
Since then, Billy has started his hunting life with Lao Dan and Ann. This is the case every time he hunts, but Lao Dan and Ann have obviously become more sophisticated in hunting prey again and again. Almost every move is full of adventure, but they always come home with a full load. Lao Dan and Ann are becoming more and more famous in this area, which is related to Billy's grandfather selling their hunting stories to everyone.
However, this fame has brought a "terrible thing". When I read this, I didn't predict how terrible it was. Of course, this does not mean that it threatens the lives of Billy, Lao Dan and Ann, but the death of another boy. It all started with a bet between Grandpa Billy and the boy.
Rubin and Renee, two boys of Pritchard's family, were originally the people Billy wanted to hide from, but Billy's grandfather was angered by two bad boys and decided to accept the bet, so Lao Dan and Ann asked Rubin to chase Rubin into a tree, which was a terrible "raccoon ghost" that any hound could not resist, which laid the foundation for Rubin's death.
Lao Dan and Ann didn't disappoint Grandpa and Billy, so they chased the raccoon ghost to the tall oak tree. When the raccoon ghost was cornered, Billy felt sympathy and decided not to kill it. At this moment, the blue hound, as ugly as Pritchard's child, appeared. It quickly bit Lao Dan, but Lao Dan got Ann's help. "Ann's teeth have been tightly fastened on the blue hound's throat. It will bite hard until its opponent dies and will not relax. "Rubin said angrily," I have to kill these two damn guys. " "He bent down, held the axe to his chest and rushed over."
But Rubin suddenly tripped, and when Billy rushed over, the blue hound was dying. At this time, they found Rubin tripped over the axe he was holding. "Half of the sharp axe blade went into his stomach." Rubin died, which made Billy very shocked. Later, he secretly took a wreath and put it in front of Rubin's grave.
The next chapters are all about raccoon catching competitions. Billy's grandfather and father also took part in the competition. Lao Dan and Xiao An performed well in the competition and won the trophy as expected. Of course, this trophy is hard to come by. In the final championship, the weather was so bad that the adults had to give up. Billy is still moving on. He doesn't want to win the trophy. He can't leave his dog in the snowstorm and return to camp. Lao Dan and Ann are finally safe. Although Billy's grandfather sprained his foot badly, his grandfather was full of joy at the final glory and victory!
At the end of the story, there is a tearful "Where are you going". In order to protect Billy, Lao Dan fought fiercely with the cougar. This puma is as fierce as a hill. "There was a creepy scream from the tree, and the mountain lion opened its claws and showed its sharp yellow teeth. This is very terrible. " Billy, Lao Dan and Ann work together to deal with this big animal. On several occasions, Billy was almost torn to pieces by a puma, and Lao Dan and Ann were also injured, but they were fearless and swore to protect their young master. Finally, Lao Dan died.
Lao Dan's death plunged the whole family into grief, and Billy was the saddest. He couldn't accept this fact and buried Lao Dan's body under a beautiful red oak tree at the top of the mountain.
Billy's grief may be alleviated by Ann, after all, God left him Ann. However, Xiao An refused to live alone and chose to stay with Lao Dan forever through hunger strike. "After arriving at the cemetery, I saw Ann's hind legs straight, her front legs on her chest and her head resting on Lao Dan's grave. Judging from the traces on the fallen leaves, Ann dragged herself all the way. I called, but it didn't move. In this way, Xiao An dragged himself step by step with his last strength and came to the grave of Lao Dan. "
At this time, like Billy, I was shrouded in great pain and had a strong awe of these two hounds. All beings are equal, and no animal is necessarily inferior to human beings. Lao Dan and Ann even have purer, more advanced and cleaner souls than human beings. So the beautiful "red fern" grows in front of their graves. This plant "growing in a sacred place" brought God's will. "I think God wants Billy to understand why Lao Dan and Ann left through the fern."
However, maybe, as mom said, they didn't leave.
"Do you think he is ready to hunt hounds? Just like here, there are mountains, trees, rivers, cornfields and fences. Is he really ready? "
"Billy, according to the Bible, there are much more things in heaven than here."
Billy not only grew up in the story of Lao Dan and Ann, but also grew up with the help of his parents. Every conversation with mom will make Billy feel better. This is the power of maternal love. After all this, Billy must be a good adult when he grows up, and every memory is deeply imprinted in Billy's heart. The shabby jar in childhood, two beagles, beautiful love, selfless dedication and cruel death will all be Billy's precious memories!