janines

George and Lennie camp in the brush by a pool, the night before starting new jobs as ranch hands.

George finds Lennie stroking a dead mouse in his pocket. He complains that caring for Lennie prevents him from living a freer life. We find out that Lennie's innocent petting of a girl's dress led to them losing their last jobs in Weed.

However, when they talk about their dream of getting a piece of land together, we know they really depend on each other.

When they arrive at the ranch in the morning, George and Lennie are shown around by old Candy.

They meet their boss and, later, his son, Curley - George is suspicious of Curley's manner and warns Lennie to stay away from him.

They see Curley's pretty and apparently flirtatious wife and meet some of their fellow workers, Slim and Carlson.

Later that evening, George tells Slim about why he and Lennie travel together and more about what happened in Weed.

The men talk about Candy's ancient dog, which is tired and ill. Carlson shoots it, as an act of kindness.

George tells Candy about their dream of getting a piece of land and Candy eagerly offers to join them - he has capital, so they could make it happen almost immediately.

Curley provokes Lennie into a fight, which ends up with Lennie severely injuring Curley's hand.

Next afternoon, Lennie accidentally kills the puppy that Slim had given him by petting it too much. He's sad.

Curley's wife finds him and starts talking very openly about her feelings. She invites Lennie to stroke her soft hair, but he does it so strongly she panics and he ends up killing her too. He runs away to hide, as George had told him.

Candy finds the body and tells George. They tell the other men - Curley wants revenge.