David and Bob the Son of Battle

 Here's the plot:

The story emphasizes the rivalry between two sheepdogs and their masters, and chronicles the maturing of a boy, David, who is caught between them. His mother dies, and he is left to the care of his father, Adam M'Adam, a sarcastic, angry alcoholic with few redeeming qualities. M'Adam is the owner of Red Wull, a huge, violent dog who herds his sheep by brute force. The other dog is Bob, son of Battle. He herds sheep by finesse and persuasion. His master is James Moore, Master of Kenmuir, who acts as surrogate father to David. David and Moore's daughter Maggie become romantically intrigued by each other. The dogs compete for the Shepherd's Trophy, the prize in an annual sheep-herding contest which is the highlight of the year in the North Country. A dog who wins three competitions in a row wins the Shepherd's Cup outright, which has never yet happened. Complications arise—a rogue dog is killing sheep, and both Bob and Red Wull are suspected of being the culprit. The story chronicles David's boyhood and early manhood, his struggle to live with his father, his frequent escapes to Kenmuir, and his intermittent friendship with Maggie Moore.

 

In his senior honors English class, David was required to choose a book from the teacher's reading list and to write a review of it. He was happy to see that Bob the Son of Battle was listed, because he'd already read the book. He gave the assignment due diligence and turned it in. He was dismayed when the teacher returned it with an "F" on it. He demanded to know why. The teacher said that the book was not on her reading list. David showed her the list, and there it was. She felt intimidated and called security, who escorted David to the principal's office. There, he telephoned his parents, and both showed up. His father, Gene, who was socially and politically prominent in Coos Bay, heard from David what happened. The book report could have been excused; the intimidating the teacher could not, so the parties struck a compromise. The intimidation would be overlooked and David would report on some other book from the teacher's list. I'm certain he was hoping to find Bambi there.