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By the Pool
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oledad is a town in California. A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas river forms a deep pool, close to the side of the hill. The water is green, but warm – it has just flowed over the long yellow sands in the hot sun. On one side of the pool, there are hills. These hills are the beginning of the Gabilan mountains. On the other side, there are trees and a sandy bank. A path leads through the trees to the water. One evening, after a hot day, two men came along the path to the pool. They were wearing denim3 trousers, denim coats and black hats. They were carrying rolled-up blankets on their shoulders. The first man was called George. He was small and quick, with a dark face, restless eyes and a thin nose. The other man was called Lennie. He was a huge man with a large face, pale eyes and wide shoulders. George stopped by the pool and took off his hat. Lennie dropped his blankets, lay down and started drinking greedily1 from the pool. George went to him, shook him by the shoulder and said sharply1: ‘Lennie, don’t drink so much. You’ll be sick like last night.’ Lennie was still wearing his hat, but he put his whole head under the water, then sat up on the bank and smiled. ‘That’s good,’ he said. ‘You drink some, George. Take a good big drink.’ George put his blankets down on the bank. ‘I’m not sure it’s good water,’ he said. ‘It looks dirty.’ George knelt down by the pool and drank a little water from his hand. ‘It tastes all right,’ he said, ‘but the water’s not running. You shouldn’t drink water when it’s not moving, Lennie. You don’t take enough care.’
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