by Jim Kjelgaard

    Soon after Bud Sloan had been sent to live at Bennett's Farm, he came upon black fawn in the nearby woods, and from that moment the metamorphosis began that turned a frightened city-bred orphan into a dedicated young farmer, whose whole being is wrapped up in the life and lore of the fields and woods of Dishnoe County.

    But even more than by his sense of identification with the black fawn, Bud was guided into maturity by Gram and Gramps Bennett. From Gram he learned for the first time what it is to love and be loved. And at Gramps' side he learned the ways of nature and the meaning of true sportsmanship.

-AB Publishing, Inc.