1) The narrator goes coon hunting with his dogs Old Dan and Little Ann and they tree a coon in the biggest tree in the bottoms. 2) The narrator promises the dogs he will cut down the tree to get the coon, and works through the night chopping at the tree. 3) The next morning, the narrator's father finds him exhausted from working all night, and agrees to let the narrator continue cutting down the tree to keep his promise to the dogs.