<P> One night Old Dan and Little Ann tree a mountain lion, and it attacks . Billy enters the fight with his axe, hoping to save his dogs, but they end up having to save him . Eventually, they kill the mountain lion, but Old Dan is badly wounded, and he dies late that night . Billy is heartbroken, and Little Ann loses the will to live, stops eating, and dies of grief a few days later on Old Dan's grave . Billy's father tries to tell him that it is all for the best, because with the money they received from winning the championship hunt, they can move to town . He goes to visit Old Dan and Little Ann's graves and finds a giant red fern between them . According to Native American legend, only an angel can plant one . He feels ready to move on . </P> <P> The novel was made into a 1974 film starring Stewart Petersen, James Whitmore, Beverly Garland, and Jack Ging . It was followed by a sequel in 1992, which starred Wilford Brimley, Chad McQueen, Lisa Whelchel, and Karen Carlson . The film was remade in 2003 and starred Joseph Ashton, Dabney Coleman, Ned Beatty and Dave Matthews . </P> <P> Although sales of the novel began slowly, by 1974 over 90,000 copies had been sold . In 2001, Publishers Weekly estimated that it had sold 6,754,308 copies . Today Where the Red Fern Grows is required reading in many American schools . One critic said it will please adults as well as children . </P> <P> I remember crying so much through this book, and even today I tear up thinking of Old Dan and Little Ann . I also loaned this to my (then) children's librarian, because the library copy was always out . I even marked the pages, "Get out tissue here ." </P>

Where does the red fern grow take place