The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog

The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog is the first book in the Hank the Cowdog novel series for children.

Plot

It takes place in the panhandle of Texas probably during the 1980s when the book was written. It starts off with Drover, Hank's assistant, coming to him and waking him up saying there's been a murder. They find a dead chicken and Hank says it was a 'raccoon' who did it, and he says he knows where it is. But the thing he finds in a bush is a porcupine, and later the local barncat, Pete, teases Hank for having quills in his nose. Later that day around dark, Hank assigns Drover to watch the chicken house while Hank goes on patrol. A couple hours later, Drover starts yelling there's a monster, Hank comes running and attacks the 'monster' which turns out to be a cow. The next day Hank and Drover sneak a trip on the back of a truck to town. In town the two dogs anger Bruno, a large boxer. The next day back at the ranch they find another murdered chicken, and Hank can't resist and he eats it. He wakes up and finds that he is in pile of feathers, and Sally May finds him and thinks that he is the murderer. High Loper then ties the chicken's head around Hanks neck. Hank then realizes that he has to leave the ranch. He heads out and meets two turkey vultures, Wallace and Junior, in the end he gives them the chicken's head and they fight over it, but in the end a hawk swoops down and grabs it. The next day Hank finds a female coyote named Girl-Who-Drinks-Blood (who he calls Missy), they become good friends but then Missy's family shows up. And the next thing Hank knows, Missy is his fiancée. Her brother. Scraunch the Terrible, missing half his face, doesn't go along with it, but in the end he starts to warm up to Hank. Hank becomes good friends with the two coyote brothers named Rip and Snort. After a long time with the coyotes, Scraunch decides that if Hank wants to marry Missy he has to raid the ranch. So Scraunch, Rip, Snort, and Hank along with other coyotes raid the ranch. But Drover, during the middle of the raid, convinces Hank that what he is doing is wrong. So Hank turns on them, and in the end Scraunch is about to kill Hank when a gun goes off. The coyotes then run off. It ends with Hank being back on ranch as Head of Ranch Security.

Characters

*Hank- Head of Ranch Security, Australian Shepherd
*Drover- Hank's assistant, Mutt
*Pete- Head of Mouse Control, cat
*High Loper- Owner of the Ranch
*Sally May- High Loper's wife
*Slim Chance- Ranch Hand
*Bruno- boxer
*Missy Coyote or Girl-Who-Drinks-Blood- coyote, fiancée of Hank
*Scraunch the Terrible- coyote, Missy's brother
*Chief Gut or Eat-Many-Rabbits-Gut-On-Full-Moon- older coyote, missing part of an ear, missing toes, and is losing a lot of fur. Chief of the coyote tribe, father of Missy Coyote and Scraunch
*Rip- coyote, henchman of Scraunch
*Snort- coyote, henchman of Scraunch
*Wallace- turkey vulture
*Junior- turkey vulture, son of Wallace

ongs

The Coyote National Anthem

External links

* http://www.hankthecowdog.com/