A Very Special White House Production: “Of Mice and Men.”
The Exclusive Picture Book Edition
‘Well,’ said George, ‘we’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof…’
Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down over his eyes, the way George’s hat was.
‘We could live offa the fatta the lan’.’
‘I can still tend the rabbits, George? I didn’t mean no harm, George.’
‘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”
…
‘The hell you wouldn’,’ said the rabbit. ‘You ain’t worth a greased jack-pin to ram you into hell. Christ knows George done ever’thing he could to jack you outa the sewer, but it don’t do no good. If you think George gonna let you tend rabbits, you’re even crazier’n usual. He ain’t. he’s gonna beat hell outa you with a stick, that’s what he’s gonna do.’
‘Go on,’ said Lennie. ‘How’s it gonna be. We gonna get a little place.’
‘We’ll have a cow,’ said George. ‘An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens… an’ down the flat we’ll have a… little piece alfalfa-’
‘For the rabbits,’ Lennie shouted.
‘For the rabbits,’ George repeated.
‘And I get to tend the rabbits.’
‘An’ you get to tend the rabbits.’
Lenny giggled with happiness. ‘An’ live on the fatta the lan’.’
‘Yes.’ Lennie turned his head. ‘No, Lennie. Look down there acrost the river, like you can almost see the place.’
Tiffany Midge is a humor columnist for Indian Country and an assistant poetry editor at The Rumpus. Her work has been featured in McSweeney’s, The Rumpus, Okey-Pankey, The Butter, Waxwing, and Moss. She is Hunkpapa Lakota. Follow her on Twitter @TiffanyMidge
