Ol' Tim and Li'l Lex

When I was a child one of my favorite books to read was _Where the Red Fern Grows_ which is a story about a boy and his two dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.

Set in the Ozarks, this boy earns, buys (risking his life to travel to get them), and trains his two dogs to hunt 'coons (raccoons).

I have very fond memories of that book and one day wish to read it to my children. But, perhaps you are wondering why I remembered this book. Well, I'll tell you: Old Dan was characterized by strength, boldness, determination, and passion. But, he was also characterized by such courage and tenacity that he could easily be fooled by the cunning raccoons who made an artform out of evasion and escape.

To balance Old Dan, there is Little Ann who has far less size and strength, but is a match, if not superior to the tactical thinking of the coons. Old Dan can be fooled, but Little Ann can keep up with the best of them and outthink them to boot.

It was not that Old Dan was dumb. When the dog took time to think he showed considerable brilliance. His problem is that he was too passionate to take the time to think.

Little Ann was able to step back and thing things through before engaging and possibly get trick or trapped. She had to. She lacked the significant strength of Old Dan and had to rely on strategy. She assisted Dan while Dan lead the charge. While the coon was engaged in combat against Dan, Little Ann would often surprise from behind or above.

Why did I think of the book?

The other day I was watching a jealous Timothy run and take away a book that Alexa was reading and start to read it himself. Mind you, up until she had it he was oblivious to it. You know the drill.

I am not kidding when I say this, but Alexa had an expression of patience while she reached over and grabbed another toy, a truck, and rolled it once and let it go. While she was in mid-roll, Tim had dropped the book that he wanted so badly moments before and started playing with the truck.

And there sat Alexa, who, having tricked her brother into grabbing a different toy, continued to read that book as though nothing had happened.

Clever girl.