Why "Of Mice and Men"?

     I think that the novella was named and written after the poem "To a Mouse" because, in the poem, the mouse has everything set out for winter, he has his house, and he's all prepared to live. All of a sudden though, the farmer destroys everything he has, but he doesn't mean to. In the novella, George and Lennie have their plans prepared to live the rest of their life, and then, without meaning to as well, Lennie ruins everything, and they have no more plans and nothing left with. 

     Also, in the poem, the farmer destroyed the mouse's home for the winter, which could lead the mouse to freeze and die during the winter, while in the novella, George shot Lennie, causing Lennie to die.

Alternative Ending

Meanwhile, far away, Lennie sat cowering in the bushes where he and George drank from all that time ago. He listened as the water trickled down through the brush. Although his presence there was strong, all the rabbits and mice had gone back to where they were, accepting him there.
"Where'd George go?" said Lennie. "He ain't come like he said he'd do." He waited in the brush; waiting and waiting and waiting. As Lennie started dozing, voices were heard far away.
"We's checked everywhere else; he got's to be here somewhere."
All of a sudden, all the life was gone from Lennie's hiding place. The rabbits and mice left, the creek seemed quieter, and Lennie's breath became low and shallow. As the voices came closer, George's voice was heard above the rest.
"We'll find 'im Curley, don' you worry. He be dead 'fore dawn." George said.
The voices came closer; dangerously close to Lennie's hiding spot. As quickly as they were coming closer, the voices started going farther away from Lennie. In his excitement, Lennie quietly said to himself, "I done it! They didn't fin' me and I done it!"
All of a sudden, the voices stopped moving. Everything was dead quiet. Although Lennie stopped moving and was dead quiet, he had a huge grin on his face. As Lennie sat waiting, he noticed a dead mouse laying in the ground a few feet away from him. In his excitement, he forgot about the people hunting him, and slowly reached for the mouse. As his large hand got closer and closer to the mouse, he had to lean farther and farther towards it.
"Was probably jus' them dumb critters running around 'ere." said a voice that resembled Slim's.
All of a sudden, a huge thump was heard, as Lennie fell over while reaching for the mouse.
"There he is!" Yelled George.
"I got's a shot!" Curley's voice shouted.
All of a sudden, a gunshot exploded from where the voices were coming from. Seconds later, a thump was heard as Lennie's dead body hit the ground from his crouching position. The gunshot echoed everywhere, a reminder to everyone what had just happened. As the gunshot finally became silent, so did everything else. All was silent, and no one said anything.
As the group went back to the farm, no one spoke a word. When they got back, still, no one spoke a word. Everyone left for the bunkhouse. When they got there, everyone went to their bunks, without saying anything, and slept for the night. The next morning, everyone went on as if nothing had happened. A few months later, George and Candy got enough money for that farm they wanted. Curley, Slim, Carleson and Whit kept using their cash for the brothels, and Curley's Wife was given a proper burial.
Down a small path, however, where a small creek ran through with the rabbits and mice peacefully drinking from it, lay a body, with the largest smile ever seen on his face.