Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

Behind him walked his opposite,

I seen thrashin’ machines on the way down. That means we’ll be bucking grain bags, bustin’ a gut. Tonight I’m gonna lay right here and look up. I like it.”

if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble.

“If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time.”

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.”

“With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.”

Lennie choked with pride. “I can remember,” he said.

If we can get jus’ a few dollars in the poke we’ll shove off and go up the American River and pan gold.

Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror. He cried, “Make ’um stop, George.”