Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Read Free Book Online Page A

time because he’s so God damn dumb. Like what happened in Weed——” He stopped, stopped in the middle of turning over a card. He looked alarmed and peered over at Slim. “You wouldn’t tell nobody?”
    “What’d he do in Weed?” Slim asked calmly.
    “You wouldn’ tell? . . . No, ’course you wouldn’.”
    “What’d he do in Weed?” Slim asked again.
    “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on ’cause that’s the only thing he can think to do. Well, this girl squawks and squawks. I was jus’ a little bit off, and I heard all the yellin’, so I comes running, an’ by that time Lennie’s so scared all he can think to do is jus’ hold on. I socked him over the head with a fence picket to make him let go. He was so scairt he couldn’t let go of that dress. And he’s so God damn strong, you know.”
    Slim’s eyes were level and unwinking. He nodded very slowly. “So what happens?”
    George carefully built his line of solitaire cards. “Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in a irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day. Got on’y our heads sticking out from the side of the ditch. An’ that night we scrammed outta there.”
    Slim sat in silence for a moment. “Didn’t hurt the girl none, huh?” he asked finally.
    “Hell, no. He just scared her. I’d be scared too if he grabbed me. But he never hurt her. He jus’ wanted to touch that red dress, like he wants to pet them pups all the time.”
    “He ain’t mean,” said Slim. “I can tell a mean guy a mile off.”
    “’Course he ain’t, and he’ll do any damn thing I——”
    Lennie came in through the door. He wore his blue denim coat over his shoulders like a cape, and he walked hunched way over.
    “Hi, Lennie,” said George. “How do you like the pup now?”
    Lennie said breathlessly, “He’s brown an’ white jus’ like I wanted.” He went directly to his bunk and lay down and turned his face to the wall and drew up his knees.
    George put down his cards very deliberately. “Lennie, ” he said sharply.
    Lennie twisted his neck and looked over his shoulder. “Huh? What you want, George?”
    “I tol’ you you couldn’t bring that pup in here.”
    “What pup, George? I ain’t got no pup.”
    George went quickly to him, grabbed him by the shoulder and rolled him over. He reached down and picked the tiny puppy from where Lennie had been concealing it against his stomach.
    Lennie sat up quickly. “Give ’um to me, George.”
    George said, “You get right up an’ take this pup back to the nest. He’s gotta sleep with his mother. You want to kill him? Just born last night an’ you take him out of the nest. You take him back or I’ll tell Slim not to let you have him.”
    Lennie held out his hands pleadingly. “Give ’um to me, George. I’ll take ’um back. I didn’t mean no harm, George. Honest I didn’t. I jus’ wanted to pet ’um a little.”
    George handed the pup to him. “Awright. You get him back there quick, and don’ you take him out no more. You’ll kill him, the first thing you know.” Lennie fairly scuttled out of the room.
    Slim had not moved. His calm eyes followed Lennie out the door. “Jesus,” he said. “He’s jes’ like a kid, ain’t he.”
    “Sure he’s jes’ like a kid. There ain’t no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he’s so strong. I bet he won’t come in here to sleep tonight. He’d sleep right alongside that box in the barn. Well—let ’im. He ain’t doin’ no harm out there.”
    It was almost dark outside now. Old Candy, the swamper, came in and went to his bunk, and behind him struggled his old dog. “Hello, Slim. Hello, George. Didn’t neither of