Alone in the bunkhouse, George thanks Slim for giving Lennie a pup. Slim comments on Lennie's ability to work hard and mentions that it is obvious Lennie is not too bright. Slim then asks why Lennie and George go around together because most of the ranch hands he's seen are always alone and "[n]ever seem to give a damn about nobody."
Feeling comfortable with Slim, George explains that he knew Lennie's aunt. After her death, Lennie just naturally began staying with George and following him around. At first, George accepted Lennie's company because he could play jokes on Lennie, who didn't realize he was being made fun of. But one day, George told Lennie to jump into the Sacramento River, which Lennie did, even though he couldn't swim. Lennie nearly drowned before George was able to pull him out, and since then, no more jokes.
George also confides in Slim about Lennie's trouble in Weed: When Lennie touched a girl's dress, the girl screamed. Lennie got so scared that George had to hit him with a fence post to get him to let go. The girl claimed she had been raped, and so Lennie and George hid in an irrigation ditch and left in the night.
Carlson enters and complains bitterly about the smell of Candy's dog, offering to shoot it to put it out of its misery. Candy looks to the other guys, particularly Slim, for help with this decision. Slim sides with Carlson, and so Candy reluctantly lets Carlson take the dog out for execution.
