The Boy Who Wanted to be a Man
A Novella
by
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LITTLE ROGER DREAMT MOST NIGHTS. Sometimes he’d remember his dreams, but most times he’d just remember bits and pieces of them. His dreams were mostly about sports, and he often dreamt about hitting the game-winning home run to finally beat the Madawaska Red Sox in the Valley Little League Championship Series. He also often dreamt about being the starting catcher for the Boston Red Sox. On that Thursday night – the evening of the day he set out to kill a deer in order to become a man – Little Roger’s dreams were no different except for two additions: he dreamt about things he would write about in his history paper, and he dreamt that tomorrow, a Friday, he had gone hunting after school and killed a big buck deer. “Mommy! Mommy!” yells Little Roger in this dream as he tries to catch his breath after running out of the woods and crossing a potato field. “Mommy! Mommy! Guess what I just did about twenty minutes ago.” “What is it, Little Roger?” says his mother who is cooking in the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes.” “Mommy, I just killed a deer about two miles from here. I killed a deer, Mommy! A big buck!” In this dream, Little Roger’s mother’s face quickly radiates a huge smile because her youngest son just accomplished a great feat. “Wow – that’s great, Little Roger! That’s great news. Congratulations dear. We’ll tell your father when he arrives from work, and I’ll call your aunts and uncles. That’s wonderful news!” “Yes, but I need help, Mommy – help to carry the beautiful deer out of the woods,” says Little Roger in this dream of his. “I grabbed the beautiful buck by the antlers, Mommy. I placed one of my hands on the deer’s side, too. The deer is dead Mommy, but he’s still warm.” “Yes yes,” Little Roger says Jeannette to calm her son down. “I grabbed the antlers, Mommy, and I dragged the deer as best I could, but I only dragged him maybe twenty feet. He weighs a lot, Mommy.” “Wow – that must be a big deer, Little Roger,” says his mother, still beaming with joy. “Yes, Mommy, he’s big. His eyes are still open too. It’s like the buck is still alive and looking at me. I feel bad I killed that big deer, Mommy, but I’m a man now.” “Yes, yes you are, Little Roger. All our relatives will be proud of you. You’ll be the talk of the town.” That was one of Little Roger’s dreams that Thursday night – the feat of killing a deer a becoming a man. It was a new dream for him.
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About the Book
Little Roger, an eleven-year-old boy growing up in northern Maine near the Canadian border, must write a history paper about his small town of Frenchville. As his mother is telling him about growing up in nearby New Brunswick, Canada, she tells him that “Where I’m from, a boy is not a man until he kills a deer.”
At that point Little Roger sets a new goal for himself, not only does he want to get an A on his history paper about Frenchville but now he also wants to kill a deer and become a man! He knows what he must do but it is something very new to him and he must find a way to reconcile the task with the outcome. With only a couple of days left in the hunting season, will Little Roger kill a deer and become a man?
About the Author
Paul Bouchard is the author of Enlistment, A Package at Gitmo, and the nonfiction book A Catholic Marries a Hindu. He grew up in northern Maine and is currently a lawyer in the Army JAG Corps. For more on Paul Bouchard visit www. authorpaulbouchard.com.