Where the Red Fern Grows: Chapter 20 Summary & Analysis

Several months later, spring arrives in the Ozarks, and Billy and his family prepare to leave for town. Mama and Papa are elated about the move. On the day they’re to set out, Billy helps his parents pack up their wagon and then he asks if he can have a few minutes to himself to say goodbye to the dogs. Mama and Papa urge him to go to their graves. As Billy walks up the hillside, he sees something amazing: a giant and beautiful red fern has sprung up between the graves and it has grown over two feet tall. Billy knows that there is an “old Indian legend” about how the red fern grows on the graves of those who have died in order to sanctify the land around them. Only an angel, legend has it, can plant the red fern’s seeds.

Billy calls for his parents and his sisters, and they all approach the hillside together. Mama in particular is in awe of the red fern, and Papa concedes that “perhaps there is something to the legend.” Papa suggests that the fern is “God’s way of helping Billy understand why his dogs died.” Billy says he does understand—he doesn’t hurt anymore. As Billy looks at the ferns, he marvels at the beautiful mountains all around. He bids his dogs goodbye and he leads his family back to their wagon. Together, they set off for town. As Billy looks back over his shoulder at the home he grew up in, he realizes how “sad and lonely” the house looks.

The older Billy, looking back on his tale, states that he has never been back to the Ozarks—he only has “dreams and memories” of the place he grew up. He hopes that one day, “if God is willing,” he will be able to return to the hills of his boyhood days. He imagines returning to the hillside where Dan and Ann are buried and looking again upon the glorious red fern, whose legend he still believes to this very day.