Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

Read this excerpt from "Water Never Hurt a Man" by Walter D. Edmonds.

"Take off your pants, dearie," said the boy in a mock voice, digging in his fingers till John winced." Joe Buller can handle your Captain smart enough. Me, I'll just paddle you to learn you."

John, looking up, was afraid. He did not know what to do, but without warning his hands acted for him, and he struck at the square face with all his might.
Refer to "Explorations in Literature" for a complete version of this story. How do the events in "Water Never Hurt a Man" transform John by the end of the narrative?

a) He becomes afraid of his father's fierceness with the men on the canal.
b) He grows more suspicious of the men he meets along the canal.
c) He grows more frustrated with his work of leading the team of horses.
d) He becomes more confident in his ability to be a driver boy on the canal.