О мышах и людях

           Lenniedronedtohimselfsoftly,«Iain’tgonnasaynothin’...Iain’tgonnasaynothin’...Iain’tgonnasaynothin’.» 

           «O.K.,"saidGeorge.«An’youain’tgonnadonobadthingslikeyoudoneinWeed,neither.» 

           Lennielookedpuzzled. «LikeIdoneinWeed?» 

           «Oh,soyaforgotthattoo,didya?Well,Iain’tgonnaremindya,fearyadoitagain.» 

           AlightofunderstandingbrokeonLennie’sface. «TheyrunusoutaWeed,"heexplodedtriumphantly. 

           «Runusout,hell,"saidGeorgedisgustedly.«Werun.Theywaslookin’forus,buttheydidn’tcatchus.» 

           Lenniegiggledhappily. «Ididn’tforgetthat,youbet.» 

           Georgelaybackonthesandandcrossedhishandsunderhishead,andLennieimitatedhim,raisinghisheadtoseewhetherhewasdoingitright. «God,you’realotoftrouble,"saidGeorge.«IcouldgetalongsoeasyandsoniceifIdidn’thaveyouonmytail.Icouldlivesoeasyandmaybehaveagirl.» 

           ForamomentLennielayquiet,andthenhesaidhopefully, «Wegonnaworkonaranch,George.» 

           «Awright.Yougotthat.Butwe’regonnasleepherebecauseIgotareason.» 

           Thedaywasgoingfastnow.OnlythetopsoftheGabilanMountainsflamedwiththelightofthesunthathadgonefromthevalley.Awatersnakeslippedalongonthepool,itsheadhelduplikealittleperiscope.