George takes the dead mouse away from Lennie and says, "You ain't petting no mice while you walk with me." At first, then, we think that George disapproves of Lennie's petting mice. After Lennie retrieves the mouse, however, and George throws it away again, Lennie breaks down and cries. George explains, "I ain't takin' it away jus' for meanness. That mouse ain't fresh...and you've broke it pettin' it. You get another mouse that's fresh and I'll let you kept it a little while."
George understands that Lennie likes to touch soft things, which are a comfort somehow to Lennie; however, because Lennie doesn't know his own strength, he typically kills small animals. That the mouse is dead is what disturbs George, I think, because it could carry disease and make Lennie sick. George is willing for Lennie to have another mouse so he doesn't disapprove of Lennie's having mice.
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