Where the Red Fern Grows: Chapters 1–9

by Wilson Rawls
Billy saves enough money to buy two pups, Old Dan and Little Ann. Together they become one of the best hunting teams in the Ozarks—and devoted friends as well. But when the unthinkable happens, Billy must learn how to nurture hope in a time of tragedy.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–20
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. squall
    a loud and harsh cry
    I saw that his right ear was split wide open. It was too much for him and he took off down the street, squalling like a scalded cat.
  2. cur
    an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
    A big ugly cur tried his luck.
  3. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    I kept coaxing. On his stomach, an inch at a time, he came to me and laid his head in my hand.
  4. dormant
    inactive but capable of becoming active
    It’s strange indeed how memories can lie dormant in a man’s mind for so many years.
  5. quench
    satisfy, as thirst
    Water from a rain puddle or a mountain stream would quench his thirst and cool his hot dry throat.
  6. pang
    a sharp spasm of pain
    Food found along the highway, or the offerings from a friendly hand would ease the pangs of hunger.
  7. rugged
    (of terrain) rough or very uneven
    Our home was in a beautiful valley far back in the rugged Ozarks.
  8. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    The country was new and sparsely settled.
  9. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    He was lying all sprawled out in the sunshine with all four paws bandaged and sticking straight up.
  10. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    “God helps those who help themselves.” I thought of the words. I mulled them over in my mind.
  11. scamper
    run or move about quickly or lightly
    A big swamp rabbit hopped out on the trail, sat on his haunches, stared at me, and then scampered away.
  12. quavering
    (of the voice) shaking as from weakness or fear
    In a quavering voice, he said, “Well, Son, it’s your money. You worked for it, and you worked hard. You got it honestly, and you want some dogs. We’re going to get those dogs. Be damned! Be damned!"
  13. outskirts
    area relatively far from the center, as of a city or town
    At the outskirts of town, I hid my flour sack and provisions, keeping the gunny sack.
  14. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    I took one look at my bare feet and winced.
  15. amends
    something done or paid to make up for a wrong
    Here was an opportunity to make amends for leaving home without telling anyone.
  16. flail
    thrash about
    Arms flailing the air, I zoomed out and up.
  17. peak
    the highest point of something
    I seemed to hang suspended in air at the peak of my climb.
  18. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    He looked friendly enough but I still couldn’t muster up enough courage to go in.
  19. snicker
    laugh quietly
    People began to stop and stare, some even snickered.
  20. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    I could see a patch there all right, and a few threadbare spots, but no whiteness was showing through.
  21. outraged
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    I saw an outraged look come over the marshal’s face.
  22. grit
    fortitude and determination
    I heard him mutter, “There’s not a one in that bunch with that kind of grit.”
  23. unravel
    disentangle
    I knew when the trail became tough, she would be the one to unravel it.
  24. beady
    small, round, and shiny
    Their beady little eyes bored into the darkness beyond the cave.
  25. query
    pose a question
    With a querying look on his face, he said, “I’m afraid I don’t understand. I thought you always wanted to go to town.”
  26. hamper
    prevent the progress or free movement of
    With the hampering help of my sisters I made the little doghouse.
  27. desperation
    a state in which all hope is lost or absent
    I tried every trick I knew. It was no use. I just couldn’t catch the wily old coons. In desperation I went to my grandfather.
  28. woe
    misery resulting from affliction
    He smiled as he listened to my tale of woe.
  29. harness
    put on leather straps fitted to a draft animal
    Papa was out by the barn harnessing his team.
  30. lope
    a smooth three-beat gait
    He dropped the harness, jumped over the rail fence, and in a long lope started for me.
  31. persistence
    steady determination
    Nine times out of ten, one pup would swim one way and the other one would go just the opposite way. I had a time with this part of their training, but my persistence had no bounds.
  32. leverage
    the mechanical advantage gained by a machine on a fulcrum
    One of the favorite tricks of a smart old ringtail is the tree-barking trick. This he accomplished by running far up on the side of a tree and using his stout legs for leverage, springing twenty or thirty feet away before touching the ground.
  33. limber
    capable of moving or bending freely
    He just lay there in the sunshine, all stretched out and limber as a rag.
  34. momentum
    the product of a body's mass and its velocity
    With one final grinding, creaking sigh, the big sycamore started down. It picked up momentum as the heavy weight of the overbalanced top dove for the ground.
  35. full-fledged
    having gained complete status
    Along about then I decided I was a full-fledged coon hunter.
Created on Wed Sep 16 19:35:53 EDT 2015 (updated Thu Sep 13 16:23:38 EDT 2018)

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