The Red Moccasins: A Story

In the backwoods of Kentucky, a boy dreams of red moccasins. Sprigg has never known want, his parents, Jervis and Elster Whitney, have given him everything an only child could ask for in their humble log cabin. But when a show bill arrives featuring an Indian boy in gleaming red moccasins, Sprigg's world narrows to a single, burning desire. He must have them. And when his father returns with the coveted footwear, Sprigg does the unthinkable: he runs, certain that his beauty will carry him wherever he wishes to go. The wilderness has other plans. Lost among unfamiliar paths and deepening shadows, the boy who wanted to be seen must now learn to find his way home. Written in 1901, this is an unflinching portrait of youthful vanity and the hard lessons that forge character.