George and Lennie are together on a ranch as day laborers. Lennie is a clumsy worker who is protected and cared for by his friend George. Both dream of one day having their own ranch and endure the hardships at work. One day, a tragedy occurs that puts their friendship to the test. Steinbeck chose a direct and dialogue-rich style. He deliberately structured the novella for later dramatization. The dialogue passages are mostly in working-class slang. Unabridged and unedited text edition in the original language, with translations of difficult words at the bottom of each page, afterword, and literary references.