That winter we didn’t make much progress, for I was in school and Doodle suffered from one bad cold after another. But when spri
ng came, rich and warm, we raised our sights again. Success lay at the end of summer like a pot of gold, and our campaign got off to a good start. On hot days, Doodle and I went down to Horsehead Landing and I gave him swimming lessons or showed him how to row a boat. Sometimes we descended into the cool greenness of Old Woman Swamp and climbed the rope vines or boxed scientifically beneath the pine where he had learned to walk. Promise hung about us like the leaves, and wherever we looked, ferns unfurled and birds broke into song. Which sentences from the excerpt most emphasize that spring has become a symbol of hope for the boys? Check all that apply.
