One night, Mae enters the barn to talk with Slim. Even when Mae explains how her life has been during the Depression, Slim refuses to listen to her and shuns her, saying "You got no troubles, except what you bring on yourself" and tells her to go back to the house. When this statement causes Mae to sob, Slim gives in and lets her talk. Back at the bunkhouse, Candy offers to join with George and Lennie after Carlson puts down his dog, so they can buy the farm, and the dream appears to move closer to reality. Curley appears and makes a scene in the bunkhouse as the workers mock him after he accused Slim of keeping company with his wife. George and Lennie's dream is overshadowed when Curley catches Lennie laughing, grabs him from his bunk and starts punching him in the face. Lennie asks for help from George, who tells him to fight back. Upon hearing George say this, Lennie catches Curley's hand and crushes it. Slim gives Curley an ultimatum: if Curley tells his father to get Lennie and George fired, Slim will tell everyone what happened. Curley is told to say that he got his hand caught in a piece of machinery.
