The chapter begins with the men outside playing and sitting alone inside the . He is stroking his puppy. He is angry at the puppy, yelling at it for biting him. Lennie is worred that will not let him tend the . He buries it in the hay, but later he picks it up and strokes it again. Then he throws it out of frustration.

comes in and asks Lennie about the animal. Lennie tells her that does not want him talking to her. But she goes on talking to him. She tells him about her life before Curley and about how she could have been an .

Lennie tells Curley’s wife that he likes to pet soft things. She tells him to feel her . When he strokes her , she gets angry that he is messing it up. Lennie becomes scared and holds on more tightly as he had done to the girl’s in Weed. Curley’s wife starts to yell, and Lennie covers her mouth and tells her not to get him in trouble. She gets scared and resists even more, which causes Lennie to accidentally her.

He realizes that she is , so he picks up the dead pup and leaves to hide in the . comes into the barn to talk to Lennie and finds Curley’s wife. He goes out and gets George, who asks him to give him a couple of minutes so the other men don’t think he was involved. goes to the bunkhouse.

Once sees his dead wife, he says he will shoot in the guts. Carlson goes to get his , but on his return, he says that must have stolen it. tells Slim and the others that Lennie probably went south. George realizes that his dream is over. And he realizes that he must reach first.

Before George finds Lennie, we see talking to an imaginary Aunt . She yells at Lennie for always getting George into trouble. She disappears and then a giant yells at Lennie. George finds Lennie and tells him about owning the ranch. As Lennie is looking across the water and listening to the story, George pulls out Carlson’s and shoots Lennie in the back of the head.