<P> Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann go hunting almost every night . As months go by, he brings more fur to his grandfather's store than any other hunter, and the stories of his dogs spread throughout the Ozarks . He and his grandfather make a bet with Rubin and Rainie Pritchard, that his dogs can catch the legendary "ghost coon". Rubin and Rainie set out with him to see if Old Dan and Little Ann can do so . It leads them on a long, complicated chase, and Rubin and Rainie want to give up . Finally, when they have it treed, Billy refuses to kill it . Rubin then orders his dog, Old Blue, to attack Old Dan, who is smaller; and Rubin starts to beat Billy to stop him from interfering . Little Ann then helps Old Dan, and together they injure Old Blue; Rubin runs to attack them with an axe, but he trips on it and kills himself . </P> <P> A few weeks later, Billy's grandfather enters him into a championship raccoon hunt, putting him against experienced hunters and the finest dogs in the country . Before it starts, he enters Little Ann into a contest for the best - looking dog, where she wins the silver cup . On the fourth night of the hunt, Old Dan and Little Ann tree three raccoons, making it to the final round . The sixth night, they tree one before a blizzard hits . Billy, his father, grandfather, and the judge lose sight of the dogs . When they finally find them, Billy's grandfather sprains his ankle . They build a fire, and when Billy's father chops down a tree, three raccoons jump out . Old Dan and Little Ann take two of them down, and chase the third one to another tree . In the morning, the hunters find them covered with ice circling the bottom of a tree . The last raccoon wins them the championship and the gold cup . The hunters also present them with $300 of jackpot money . </P> <P> Billy's mother and sisters are overjoyed with the prizes . He continues hunting . 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 Billy finds his intestines in a bush . 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 and his family look at it in awe, and he feels ready to move on knowing that his dogs are always going to be remembered . </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>

Do the dogs die in where the red fern grows 2