"Katie!" "Cora!" "You love your sister?" "You make any noise, you know what happens." "Good morning, Estelle." "— How am I looking, Paul?" "— That's better." "That's better." "Morning, Mr. Edgecomb." "Some Danish?" "No, just two pieces of dry toast, Hector." "Thanks." "Leftover's fine." "Dry and cold, same as always." "Cold is better." "Especially on those long walks." "Am I right?" "Don't let Nurse Godzilla catch you." "She'll raise holy hell." "We're not supposed to let you wander off." "Where do you go every day?" "What do you do up in those hills?" "Just walk." "I like to walk." "Try not to fall down, bust a hip." "I don't wanna be in no damn search party." "You want this man in your life?" "Explain the moral basis of that." "I've made mistakes." "Tony doesn't admit that he's not a good father." "You can't ask nothing." "I have six kids myself." "Why do we always watch this stuff?" "It's interesting." "Interesting?" "Bunch of inbred trailer trash?" "All they ever talk about is fucking." "Are you all right?" "You look tired." "You're not yourself." "No, I'm fine." "I promise." "You're wearing yourself out with those walks every day, I think." "Not that you asked me." "I just didn't sleep well, is all." "I had a few bad dreams." "It happens." "I'll be fine." "If Madge doesn't care, I certainly don't." "Neither do I." "Now, this here is worth a look." "I'm in heaven" "And my heart beats so That I can hardly speak" "And I seem to find" "The happiness I seek" "When we're out together" "Dancing cheek to cheek" "Heaven" "I'm in heaven" "And the cares that hung around me" "Through the week" "Seem to vanish" "Like a gambler's lucky streak" "Paul, what is it?" "My God." "I've got to get out of here." "I guess sometimes the past just catches up with you whether you want it to or not." "It's silly." "Was it the film?" "It was, wasn't it?" "I haven't spoken of these things for a long time, Ellie." "Over 60 years." "Paul, I'm your friend." "I ever tell you that I was a prison guard during the Depression?" "You've mentioned it." "Did I mention I was in charge of death row?" "That I supervised all the executions?" "Usually, death row is called "The Last Mile."" "We called ours "The Green Mile."" "The floor was the color of faded limes." "We had the electric chair." ""Old Sparky," we called it." "I've lived a lot of years, Ellie but 1935, that takes the prize." "That year, I had the worst urinary infection of my life." "It was..." "It was also the year of John Coffey and the two dead girls." "Put me through to E Block." "E Block." "Right." "Paul?" "Prisoner." "Christ, give me a minute." "You all right?" "For a man pissing razorblades, yeah." "You should've took the day off to see the doctor." "With the new arrival?" "You know better." "Besides it's not as bad as it was." "I think it's clearing up." "— Let's look alive, Dean." "— Yes, sir." "Damn." "They're riding on the axle." "What'd they do?" "They bust the springs?" "Dead man!" "Dead man walking!" "We got a dead man walking here!" "Jesus please us, what is he yelling about?" "You might reconsider getting in the cell with this guy." "He's enormous." "Can't be bigger than you." "Dead man!" "Dead man walking!" "Dead man!" "Dead man walking!" "Dead man walking here!" "Dead man!" "We got a dead man walking here!" "Dead man walking!" "— We got a dead man walking here!" "— Percy." "That's enough." "Am I gonna have any trouble with you, big boy?" "Can you talk?" "Yes, sir, boss." "I can talk." "Move your ass." "Let's go." "Come on." "Percy they're moving house in the infirmary." "Why don't you go see if they could use some help?" "They got all the men they need." "Why don't you just make sure?" "I don't care where you go, as long as it's not here at this moment." "All right." "God, you bust my finger." "I wiped that grin off your face, didn't I?" "Goddamn it, Percy, get the hell off my block!" "Fuck you, Percy." "We'll get that looked at, Del." "In the meantime, stay quiet." "I let Harry take those chains off you you gonna be nice?" "Your name is John Coffey." "Yes, sir, boss." "Like the drink, only not spelt the same." "You can spell, can you?" "Just my name, boss." "J..." "O..." "My name is Paul Edgecomb." "If I'm not here, you can ask for Mr. Terwilliger Mr. Howell or Mr. Stanton." "These gentlemen right there." "Questions?" "Do you leave the light on after bedtime?" "Because I get a little scared in the dark sometime if it's a strange place." "It stays pretty bright around here all night long." "We keep a few lights burning in the corridor." "The corridor?" "Right out there." "You can sit." "I couldn't help it, boss." "I tried to take it back, but it was too late." "Take Delacroix to the infirmary, see if those fingers are broken." "Of course they are." "I heard the bones crack." "You hear what he was yelling when we brought the dummy in?" "How could I miss it?" "The whole prison heard." "Goddamn Percy." "You'll have to answer for sending him off the Mile." "I'll chew that food when I have to." "Right now I wanna hear about this new inmate." "Aside from how big he is." "Monstrous big." "Damn." "He seems meek enough." "Is he retarded, you figure?" "Looks like they sent us an imbecile to execute." "Imbecile or not, he deserves to fry for what he done." "Make your blood curdle." "— What?" "!" "For God's sake, what?" "— The girls!" "The girls are gone!" "Papa!" "Papa, look!" "There's blood." "Oh, my God." "Goddamn it, woman!" "Get on that phone." "You tell them we headed west." "You mind what I'm saying!" "We headed west!" "Central!" "Are you on the line?" "Oh, God, please." "Somebody took my little girls." "Katie!" "Cora!" "Jesus." "Jesus." "I'll kill you!" "I'll kill you!" "I couldn't help it." "I tried to take it back, but it was too late." "Boy, you under arrest for murder." "I interrupt?" "Well, I'm just about done." "How's your pretty gal?" "Melinda's not so well, Paul." "Not so well at all." "More headaches?" "Got laid up with another one yesterday." "Worst one yet." "I'll be taking her over to Vicksburg next day or so for some tests." "Head x-rays and who knows what else." "She is scared to death." "Truth to tell, so am I." "If it's something they can see on the x-ray maybe they can fix it." "Maybe." "This just came in." "DOE on Bitterbuck." "You didn't come down here to hand me a DOE." "I had an angry call from the state capitol about 20 minutes ago." "Is it true you ordered Percy Wetmore off the block?" "It is." "Now, I'm sure you had reason, Paul but like it or not, the wife of the governor has only one nephew and his name is Percy Wetmore." "Little Percy calls his aunt and squeals like a schoolroom sissy." "He mention he assaulted a prisoner this morning out of sheer petulance?" "Broke three fingers on Eduard Delacroix's left hand." "I didn't hear that." "I'm sure she didn't either." "He is mean, careless and stupid and that's a bad combination in a place like this." "Sooner or later, he'll get somebody hurt or worse." "Stick with it, Paul." "It may not be much longer." "I have it on good authority that Percy has an application in at Briar Ridge." "Briar Ridge?" "The mental hospital." "Administration job." "Better pay." "Then why is he still here?" "He can get that application pushed through." "With his connections, he could have any state job he wants." "You know what I think?" "I think he just wants to see one cook up close." "Well, he'll get his chance, then." "Won't he?" "Maybe then he'll be satisfied and move on." "In the meantime you'll keep the peace?" "Of course." "Of course." "Thank you, Paul." "Hal you give Melinda my love, okay?" "I'm sure that x-ray will turn out to be nothing at all." "You bet." "The music too loud?" "There's just this empty spot in the bed where my husband sleeps." "He said to tell you he's having a little trouble with that tonight." "Worried about Melinda and Hal?" "Is that what's got you up?" "Yeah, that and things." "Things." "We got a new inmate today." "Simple-minded fella." "Do I wanna know what he did?" "No." "Things that happen in this world." "It's a wonder God allows it." "Why don't you come to bed?" "I think I have something that'll help you sleep." "You can have all you want." "I still got something wrong with my waterworks." "I don't wanna pass it on to you." "Have you seen Doc Bishop yet?" "No." "He'll want me to take sulfa tablets and I'll spend the week puking in my office." "It will run its course by itself." "Thank you very much for your concern." "Poor old guy." "The legislature loosened up the purse strings enough to hire on a new guard." "Look again." "He's right there." "It ain't normal for a mouse to come up on people." "— Maybe it's rabid." "— Oh, my Christ." "— It could be." "— Oh, the big mouse expert." "The Mouse Man." "You see him foaming at the mouth, Mouse Man?" "I don't see its mouth at all." "— Brutal, we'll be hip-deep in mice." "— I just wanna see what he'll do." "In the interest of science, like." "He's in the damn restraint room." "He's chewing the padding out of the walls making himself a nice little nest." "All right." "Let's go get the damn mouse." "Boss." "Saw me a mouse go by." "Can't put anything over on you." "You let him get past you." "No, I did not." "I been here all the time." "Then where the hell is he?" "Well, I don't know." "Three grown men outsmarted by a mouse." "Bright side is, all this commotion probably scared him off for good." "Yeah, that's the last we'll see of him." "You little son of a bitch." "Well, I'll be damned." "There he is, big as Billy-be-frigged." "I thought Brutal was pulling my leg." "That's a goddamn mouse." "Brute said he was in here last night begging for food." "He come right on up to the desk." "Give him some room." "See what he does." "He's a brave little bastard." "Gotta give him that." "Goddamn!" "You little scurvy!" "Percy, are you crazy, you little son of a bitch?" "!" "I'm gonna kill you!" "I'm gonna take you out!" "You little vermin!" "I'm gonna stomp your life out!" "It's just a little mouse, dumb merde." "You ugly little piece of sh... — Are you listening to me?" "— Fuck!" "I'm gonna rip your diseased head off you little piece of shit!" "Percy met your mouse." "It's in here somewhere." "I'm gonna squish the little son of a bitch." "Percy, we already tried that." "What'd you say?" "I said that we..." "I Knock yourself out." "Hope you nail the bastard." "Gosh." "He ain't in there, huh?" "Don't that beat the mousy band?" "You wanna think about what you were doing?" "I was trying to get the mouse." "Are you blind?" "You also scared the living crap out of me and Bill not to mention the inmates." "So what?" "They aren't in cradle school, case you didn't notice." "Although you treat them that way." "We don't scare them any more than we have to." "They're under enough strain." "Men under strain can snap." "Hurt themselves and hurt others." "That's why our job is talking not yelling." "You'd do better to think of this place like an intensive care ward." "I think of it as a bucket of piss to drown rats in." "That's all." "Anybody doesn't like it?" "You can kiss my ass." "You try it." "Go on." "Try it." "You'll be on the bread lines before the week is out." "Okay, Brutal." "We all know who your connections are." "You ever threaten a man on this block again, we all gonna have a go." "Job be damned." "You done?" "Get all this shit back in the room." "You are cluttering up my Mile." "Arlen your daughter and her family are here." "Let's move." "I want at least two rehearsals before he gets back." "Sitting down, sitting down!" "Rehearsing now!" "Everybody settle!" "Arlen Bitterbuck, step forward." "Stepping forward, stepping forward, stepping forward." "— Is his head properly shaved?" "— It's all dandruffy, and it smells." "I will take that as a yes." "Let's go, Arlen." "Walking the Mile, walking the Mile walking the Mile, walking the Mile, walking the Mile walking the Mile." "I'm getting to my knees." "I'm praying, praying." "Lord is my shepherd and so forth and so on." "I'm sorry for all the bad shit I've done and people I've tramped on." "And I hope they forgive me and I'll never do it again, that's for sure." "We're not gonna have some Cherokee medicine man in here hollering and shaking his dick." "— Actually..." "— Still praying, still praying." "— Getting right with Jesus." "— Do it quietly!" "You old gink!" "As I was saying I don't believe they actually shake their dicks." "Mr. Bitterbuck is a Christian, so Reverend Schuster's coming in." "He's good." "He's fast too." "Doesn't get them all worked up." "On your feet, Toot." "You prayed enough for one day." "Getting to my feet!" "Walking the Mile walking the Mile, walking the Green Mile." "Walking the Mile." "Walking in the Mile." "Sitting down now." "Sitting down." "I'm taking a seat in Old Sparky." "What do I do?" "Watch and learn." "Getting strapped." "Getting clamped." "Getting wired." "All right." "Getting all electrode." "Roll on one." ""Roll on one" means I turn the generator up full." "The lights go brighter in half the prison." "Arlen Bitterbuck you've been condemned to die by a jury sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this state." "Anything to say before your sentence is carried out?" "I want fried chicken with gravy on the taters, and I want to shit in your hat." "I got to have Mae West sit on my face because I'm one horny motherfucker." "You bastard." "That's a good one." "Quiet." "Quiet!" "Shut up!" "— Shut up!" "— Sorry, boss." "One more remark like that, I'll have Van Hay roll on two for real." "And I'll have one less crazy old trustee." "It was pretty funny." "I don't like it." "We'll be doing this for real." "I don't want anybody remembering a stupid joke and getting going again." "Ever try not to laugh in church when something funny gets stuck in your head?" "I'm sorry, Paul." "You're right." "Let's keep going." "Soak the sponge." "Putting on the black hood." "And putting on my cap." "Why's he putting that sponge on his head?" "Conducts electricity to the brain fast like a bullet." "You don't ever throw the switch on a man without that." "Hush up there, Toot." "Getting screwed." "I'm getting the cap." "Arlen Bitterbuck electricity shall be passed through your body until you are dead in accordance with state law." "God have mercy on your soul." "Amen." "Roll on two." "And that's that." "I'm frying!" "I'm frying!" "I'm a done tom turkey!" "This is a shocking experience!" "One of the witnesses showed up a day early." "Let's do it again, and let's get it right this time." "Get that idiot out of the chair." "Do you think if a man sincerely repents on what he done wrong that he might get to go back to the time that was happiest for him and live there forever?" "Could that be what heaven's like?" "I just about believe that very thing." "Had me a young wife when I was 18." "Spent our first summer in the mountains." "Made love every night." "And she'd lie there after bare-breasted in the firelight." "And we'd talk sometimes till the sun come up." "That was my best time." "It'll be fine." "You'll do fine." "Arlen Bitterbuck, electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead, in accordance with state law." "God have mercy on your soul." "Roll on two." "Again." "Adios, chief." "Drop us a card from hell." "Let us know if it's hot enough." "He's paid what he owed." "He's square with the house again so keep your goddamn hands off him!" "What's up his ass?" "You." "Always." "You, Percy." "You gotta hate the new boy?" "That the way it is around here?" "Why don't you just move on?" "Take that job at Briar Ridge?" "Oh, yeah." "I know all about it." "Sounds to me like a pretty good job." "I might just take it too, soon as you put me out front." "Yeah, you heard me." "I want Brutal's spot for the next execution." "Seeing a man die, that's not enough." "You gotta smell his nuts cook." "I just wanna be out front, is all." "Come on." "One time." "And then you know what?" "You'll be rid of me." "I swear." "And if I say no?" "Well, I might just stick around for good." "Make me a career of this boss." "You won't believe this." "Look." "I done tame me that mouse." "We see that." "Watch this." "Watch what he do." "Ain't he something now?" "He's smart, Mr. Jingles." "— Mr. Jingles?" "— That his name." "He whispered in my ear." "Hey, captain could I have a box for my mouse so he can sleep in here with me?" "Your English gets better when you want something." "Wanna see what else he can do?" "Watch, watch." "Mr. Jingle?" "Mr. Jingle, wanna play fetch?" "Wanna play fetch?" "Play fetch." "Watch, watch, watch." "He fetch it every time." "Every time." "That's some smart mouse, Del." "Like he a circus mouse or something." "Correct." "That just what he is too." "He's a circus mouse." "When I get out, he'll make me rich." "You just watch and see if he don't do that." "We play fetch again?" "Well, well, well." "Looks like you found yourself a new friend." "Don't hurt him." "Is that the one I chased?" "Yeah, that's the one." "Only Del says his name is Mr. Jingles." "Is that so?" "Del's been asking for a box." "Thinks the mouse will sleep in it." "Might keep it for a pet." "What do you think?" "You know what?" "We ought to find a cigar box and get some cotton batting from the dispensary to line it with." "That should do real nice." "Man said get a cigar box." "Hal, you wanted to see me?" "Close the door." "So you know you got a new prisoner coming in here tomorrow." ""William Wharton."" "He's what you call a problem child." "Got "Billy the Kid" tattooed on his left arm." "Been rambling all over the state last few years causing all kinds of trouble." "Finally hit the big time." "Killed three people in a holdup." "One of them a pregnant woman." "Bad news all around." "It's a tumor, Paul." "A brain tumor." "They got x-ray pictures of it." "It's the size of a lemon, they said." "And way down deep inside, where they can't operate." "I haven't told her." "I can't think how." "For the life of me, Paul I can't think how to tell my wife she's going to die." "Oh, oh, God." "Oh, God." "I'm going." "What?" "To see Dr. Bishop." "I'm going." "Today." "Soon as we get that new inmate squared away." "That bad?" "Oh, yeah." "The boy's doped to the gills." "Hand me them clothes." "William Wharton?" "You put on these clothes now." "We'll have to do this." "Hellraiser, huh?" "Look more like a limp noodle to me." "You've been declared competent, son." "You know what that means?" "You're gonna ride the lightning." "Shut up, give us a hand." "Hellraiser." "You don't look so good." "Look like you're running you a fever." "Boss Edgecomb?" "I needs to see you down here." "I got things to tend to, John Coffey." "You just stay still in your cell." "E Block." "Come on, let's go." "Come on." "Look alive, big boy." "Careful." "Careful." "Step up." "Step up." "Ain't this a party now?" "— Is it or what?" "— Let him go." "— Shoot him." "— See who you hit." "Shoot the son of a bitch." "Shoot him!" "Hit him, Percy!" "Goddamn it!" "Hit him." "Hit me, you limp noodle." "Hit him, Percy!" "Goddamn it, hit him!" "Come on, Percy." "Hit me." "I'm warning you." "You warning me?" "I'm warning you!" "— You're warning me?" "!" "— Shoot him!" "Well, come on..." "You're a big fucker." "Where'd you come from?" "Come on, Dean." "Come on, boy, get up." "All right." "Let it breathe." "That's it." "Just breathe." "Just breathe." "Breathe." "Breathe, boy." "— Didn't see it coming." "— Come on, boy, breathe." "Come on." "Just breathe." "We thought he was doped." "Didn't we?" "Didn't we, all of us, think he was doped?" "You didn't ask?" "I guess that's not a mistake you'll be needing to make again anytime soon, is it?" "You go get Dean and Harry looked at." "Make sure they're all right." "Percy, you make the report to the warden for me." "Say the situation's under control." "It's not a story." "He won't appreciate you drawing out the suspense." "What about you?" "You're about to collapse." "I've got the Mile till you all come back." "Go on now." "Go." "Come on, boy." "Let's get you looked at." "Boss, I needs to see you down here." "This is not a good time, John Coffey not a good time at all." "But I needs to see you, boss." "I needs to talk to you." "Closer." "You know you ain't supposed to do that." "Mind your business, Del." "What do you want, John Coffey?" "Just to help it." "Don't be afraid." "Help!" "Help!" "Coffey's killing Boss Edgecomb!" "Help!" "What are you doing?" "Boss Howell!" "Help!" "Boss Stanton!" "Somebody, come!" "Help!" "Boss Howell!" "Boss Stanton!" "Somebody, come!" "John Coffey's killing Boss Edgecomb!" "Del, for chrissakes, shut up!" "What did you just do to me?" "I helped it." "Didn't I help it?" "I just took it back, is all." "Awful tired now, boss." "Dog-tired." "Boss, what that man do to you?" "Hey, honey." "How you feeling?" "Oh, not too bad." "What did the doctor say?" "You know doctors." "Gobbledygook, mostly." "Gobbledygook." "Having stew tonight." "What are you doing?" "What does it feel like?" "Well, I know what it feels like." "It feels great." "Not that I'm complaining but we haven't gone four times in one night since we were 19." "Yeah, we did, at your mom's." "Wanna tell me what's going on?" "Well see, the thing is I never actually made it in to Dr. Bishop's yesterday." "Brutal, Paul." "Listen." "I'm thinking of taking the morning off sick." "You cover the fort for me?" "That's swell." "Thanks." "Yeah, I'm sure I'll feel better." "You're sure you ought to do this?" "I'm not sure what I'm sure of." "Burt, you got some company." "Can I offer you a cold drink?" "Yes, ma'am." "A cold drink would be fine." "Thank you." "Mr. Hammersmith, your office said I might find you at home." "Hope I'm not troubling you." "Well, that depends, Mr...?" "Paul Edgecomb." "I'm E Block supervisor up on Cold Mountain." "The Green Mile." "Yeah, I've heard of it." "Lost a few clients your way." "I'd like to ask you about one." "— Have a seat." "— Thank you." "Which client?" "Now you got my curiosity aroused." "John Coffey." "Coffey." "Causing you problems?" "Can't say he is." "He doesn't like the dark and cries on occasion but other than that..." "He cries, does he?" "Got a lot to cry about, I'd say." "You know what he did." "I read the court transcript." "Thank you, missus." "My pleasure." "Kids!" "Lunch is about ready." "Y'all come on up." "Coming, Mama!" "What exactly are you trying to find out?" "I wonder if he did anything like that before." "Why?" "Has he said anything?" "No, but a man who does a thing like that has often developed a taste for it over time." "It occurred to me that it might be easy enough to follow his back trail." "Find out." "A man his size, and colored to boot, can't be that hard to trace." "You'd think so, but you'd be wrong." "Believe me, we tried." "Like he'd dropped out of the sky." "How can that be?" "We're in a depression." "A third of the country's out of work." "People are drifting by the thousands, looking for jobs, for greener grass." "Even a giant like Coffey wouldn't get noticed everywhere." "Not until he kills a couple of little girls." "He is strange, I admit." "But there doesn't seem to be any real violence in him." "I know violent men, Mr. Hammersmith." "I deal with them day in and day out." "You didn't come to ask me whether he killed before." "You came to see if I think he did it at all." "Do you?" "One seldom sees a less ambiguous case." "He was found with the victims in his arms." "And yet you defended him." "Everyone is entitled to a defense." "Kids!" "Lunch!" "Y'all listen to your mama!" "I'll tell you something." "You listen close too, because it might be something you need to know." "I'm listening." "We had us a dog." "Just a sweet mongrel." "You know the kind." "Well, in many ways, a good mongrel dog is like a Negro." "You get to know it." "Often, you get to love it." "It is of no particular use but you keep it around because you think it loves you." "If you're lucky, Mr. Edgecomb, you never have to find out any different." "My wife and I were not so lucky." "Caleb, come here for a second." "Come here." "Please, son." "He still has the one good eye." "I suppose he's lucky not to be completely blind." "We get down on our knees and thank God for that much at least." "Right, Caleb?" "Go on in, now." "That dog attacked my boy for no reason." "Just got it in his mind one day." "The same with John Coffey." "He was sorry afterwards." "Of that I have no doubt." "But those little girls stayed raped and murdered." "Maybe he'd never done it before." "My dog never bit before." "But I didn't concern myself with that." "I went out with my rifle, grabbed his collar and blew his brains out." "Is Coffey guilty?" "Yes, he is." "Don't you doubt it." "And don't you turn your back on him." "You may get away with it once or even a hundred times but in the end you'll get bit." "Oh, me!" "Oh, my!" "I'm smelling me some corn bread." "It's from my missus." "She wanted to thank you." "Thank me for what?" "Well, you know." "For helping me." "Helping you with what?" "You know." "Was your missus pleased?" "Several times." "John, I can smell that from over here." "I surely can." "Can I give Del and Mr. Jingles some?" "Well, it's yours, John." "You can do with it as you please." "Here." "This for Del and Mr. Jingles." "Hey!" "What about me?" "I'm gonna get some too, ain't I?" "It's yours, John." "As you please." "I think I'll just keep the rest, then." "Courtesy of the gentleman across the way." "John, that's so very fine of you." "I thank you." "Mr. Jingle thank you." "My mama'd thank you too, but she dead." "Welcome." "What about me?" "Don't you hold out on me, you big dummy nigger." "Here come the boss man." "You'll keep a civil tongue on my block." "You get that one for free." "But that's the last one." "That's it?" "Just that little itty-bitty one?" "I guess I'm gonna have to pay you out for the rest." "Good shot, weren't it?" "The look on your face!" "You believe this?" "That son of a bitch pissed on me." "Did y'all like that?" "I'm cooking up some turds to go with it." "Nice soft ones." "Have them out to y'all tomorrow." "We've been meaning to clean out that room for a while, haven't we?" "Be careful with that." "That's fragile." "What's it now?" "What's it now?" "Moving day?" "Y'all wanna come in here and dust a little?" "You can shine my knob for me while you're at it." "You can come in here on your legs but you'll go out on your backs." "Billy the Kid gonna guarantee you that." "Come on, fuck-stick." "No sneaking up on me this time." "We'll go man-to-man." "Piss on me?" "Come on, Wild Bill." "Little walky-walky." "Don't you call me that!" "Wild Bill Hickok wasn't no range rider!" "He was just some bushwhacking John Law!" "Dumb son of a bitch sat with his back to the door, killed by a drunk." "Oh, my suds and body." "A history lesson." "You never know what you'll get at work every day on the Green Mile." "Thank you, Wild Bill." "Not in there." "I'll be good." "Honest injun, I will." "I will." "He's pitching a fit." "He'll be fine, boys." "Trust me on this one." "Hey, fellers!" "All I wanted me was a little corn bread, you motherfuckers!" "All I wanted me was a little corn bread!" "I learned my lesson." "I'll be good." "Hey, Toot." "Give you a nickel for that Moon Pie." "Little Black Sambo!" "Yes, sir, yes, sir." "How do you do?" "Hope your bags are packed." "My bags are packed!" "I'm ready to go!" "Where are we going?" "Let's go!" "That Moon Pie thing was pretty original." "Gotta give him that." "Del, grab up your things." "It's a big day for you and Mr. Jingles." "What you talking about?" "Important folks heard about your mouse." "Wanna see him perform." "Not just prison guards." "One's a politician all the way from the state capitol." "You fellas coming?" "No, we got other fish to fry just now, Del." "But you knock them for a loop." "You knock them for a loop." "Just like Mr. Harry says." "Let's move briskly." "There's not much time." "All right, rehearsing now!" "Gotta move our ass." "Ain't got much time." "I been fixing the plumbing here for 10 years." "Ain't never had to wear no tie before." "Well, you're the VIP today, Earl, so just shut up." "All right, everybody have a seat." "This is great." "Eduard Delacroix, electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead in accordance with state law." "God have mercy on your soul." "Roll on two." "That's that." "Very good." "Very professional." "Let's do it again." "You got all the words right." "It sounded just fine." "Thank you." "It's hard to keep a straight face when Toot's acting the goat." "You got that chin strap tight, because his head will buck..." "All right, break it up." "So?" "They love Mr. Jingles." "They laugh over there." "They cheer." "They clap their hands." "Well, that's just aces." "Isn't that something?" "You done good, old-timer." "We're happy for you." "Yeah, we are." "Percy, you shit." "Come on." "Del, get up." "Del, you numb-wit." "I didn't mean nothing by it." "I was just playing." "Come on, now." "I was just having..." "Ain't you sweet?" "Soft like a girl." "I'd rather fuck your asshole than your sister's pussy, I think." "Wharton!" "I let him go." "I was just playing." "I let him go." "I'd never hurt a hair on his pretty head." "Your noodle ain't limp at all, lover-boy." "I think you sweet on old Billy the Kid." "But smell you." "Look." "He done piss his pants." "Oh, my God." "Look what the big man done." "He bust other people with a stick." "Somebody touch him, he make water in his pants like a little baby." "Learn when to shut up." "All right, now." "Don't touch me." "You talk about this to anyone I'll get you all fired." "I swear that to God." "What happens on the Mile stays on the Mile." "Always has." "Yeah, you keep laughing, you French-fried faggot!" "You just keep on laughing!" "Wetmore a good name for you!" "Percy Wetmore do a dance" "Listen to him squishing in his pant" "Well, what about Dean?" "He's got a little boy." "He'd love to have a pet mouse, I bet." "How could a boy be trusted with Mr. Jingle?" "Maybe forget to feed him." "How he keep up with his training?" "He just a boy, n'est-ce pas?" "All right." "I'll take him, then." "Me." "Merci beaucoup." "Thank you kindly, but you live out in the woods." "Mr. Jingle, he be he be scared to live out in the big woods." "How about Mouseville?" "Mouseville?" "Tourist attraction down in Florida." "Tallahassee, I think." "Is that right, Paul?" "Tallahassee?" "Tallahassee." "It's just down the road a piece from the dog university." "You think they'd take Mr. Jingles?" "You think he's got the stuff?" "I mean, he is pretty smart." "What is Mouseville?" "Tourist attraction, I said." "They got this big tent." "— You have to pay?" "— Are you shitting me?" "Course you pay." "Dime apiece." "— Two cents for the kids." "— For the kids." "Inside the tent they got this mouse city made out of old boxes and toilet paper rolls, little windows so you can look in." "Plus, they got the Mouseville All-Star Circus." "Yeah, there's mice that swing on trapeze." "Mice that roll barrels." "Mice that stack coins." "Yeah, that's it." "That's the place for Mr. Jingles." "You gonna be a circus mouse after all." "You're gonna live in a mouse city down in Florida." "There he goes." "Mr. Jingles!" "I knew I'd get him sooner or later." "It was just a matter of time, really." "You fucking cruel bastard!" "Give him to me." "Give him to me." "Might still be time." "What are you doing?" "What the hell...?" "Please, John." "Help him." "Please, Johnny, help him." "Oh, dear Jesus." "The tail." "Look at the tail." "What'd you do?" "I helped Del's mouse his circus mouse." "Gonna live in a mouse city down in..." "Florida." "Boss Percy bad." "He mean." "He step on Del's mouse." "I took it back, though." "Brute you come along with me." "You fellas go on back to your cribbage game." "Now, don't start in on me." "It was just a mouse." "Never belonged here in the first place." "The mouse is fine." "Just fine." "You're no better at mouse-killing than you are at anything else around here." "Yeah, you expect me to believe that?" "I heard the goddamn thing crunch." "Aren't you glad Mr. Jingles is okay?" "After all those talks we had about keeping the prisoners calm?" "— Aren't you relieved?" "— What kind of game is this?" "It's no game." "See for yourself." "Go on." "Don't let nothing happen to Mr. Jingle." "You switched them." "You switched them somehow, you bastards." "I always keep a spare mouse in my wallet for occasions such as this." "Yeah, you playing with me." "Both of you." "Just who the hell you think you are?" "We're the people you work with." "But not for long." "Percy, I want your word." "My word?" "I put you out front for Del you put in your transfer to Briar Ridge the next day." "What if I just call up certain people and tell them you're harassing me?" "— Bullying me." "— Go ahead." "I promise you'll leave your share of blood on the floor." "Over a mouse?" "No." "But four men will swear you stood by while Wild Bill tried to strangle Dean." "About that, people will care." "Even your uncle the governor." "Thing like that goes on your work record." "Work record can follow a man around for a long, long time." "I put you out front you put in for that transfer." "That's the deal." "All right." "You make a promise to a man, you shake his hand." "Hey, boys." "No, now, say hey, Mr Jingles." "Eduard Delacroix, will you step forward?" "Boss Edgecomb." "Yes, Del?" "Don't let nothing happen to Mr. Jingle, okay?" "Here." "You take him." "I can't have a mouse on my shoulder while you know." "I'll take him, boss." "Just for now, if Del don't mind." "You take him, John." "You take him till this foolishment be done." "You gonna take him to Mouseville?" "We'll do it together, most likely." "Maybe take a little vacation time." "People pay a dime apiece to see him." "Two cents for the kids." "Ain't that right, Boss Howell?" "That's right, Del." "You're a good man, Boss Howell." "You too, Boss Edgecomb." "I sure wish I could've met you guys somewheres else." "Hope he's good and scared." "Hope he knows the fires are stoked and that Satan's imps are waiting." "Del, it's all right." "Roll on one." "You be still, Mr. Jingles." "You be so quiet and so still." "Eduard Delacroix you've been condemned to die by a jury of your peers." "Sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this state." "You have anything to say before sentence is carried out?" "I sorry for what I..." "I sorry for what I do." "I give anything to take it back." "But I can't." "God have mercy on me." "Ainsi soit-il." "Amen." "Don't forget about Mouseville." "There's no such place." "That's just a fairy tale these guys told you to keep you quiet." "Just thought you should know, faggot." "Eduard Delacroix electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead in accordance with state law." "God have mercy on your soul." "Roll on two!" "The sponge is dry." "What?" "— The goddamn sponge is dry!" "— Well, don't you stop him!" "Don't you do it!" "It's too late for that." "Is this normal?" "God, the smell." "He's cooking now!" "They cooking him good!" "They're about done, I reckon!" "We're gonna have a hoedown!" "He's cooking now!" "He's cooking now!" "We gonna have a hoedown!" "'Cution gumbo." "Give me some!" "Give me some!" "I'm smelling gumbo!" "I'm smelling..." "I said give me some!" "I smell it!" "Smell it!" "Should I kill the juice?" "No!" "Roll, for chrisssake, roll!" "He's frying now!" "He's frying now!" "Why don't you shut it down?" "He's still alive." "You want me to shut down while he's still alive?" "You watch, you son of a bitch!" "It's all right, folks!" "It's all under control!" "Everybody stay calm!" "Please, stay calm." "Kill it!" "You do it!" "You're running this show, ain't you?" "I didn't know the sponge is supposed to be wet." "Brutal!" "Brutal, no!" "What do you mean, no?" "You saw what he did!" "Delacroix's dead!" "Percy is not worth it!" "So he just gets away with it!" "Is that how it works?" "What in the blue fuck was that?" "Jesus Christ." "There's puke all over the floor up there." "And the smell." "I got Van Hay to open both doors, but that smell won't go out for 5 years." "That's what I'm betting." "And that asshole Wharton is singing about it!" "You can hear him up there!" "Can he carry a tune, Hal?" "Okay, boys, okay." "Now, what in the hell happened?" "An execution." "A successful one." "How in the name of Christ can you call that a success?" "Eduard Delacroix is dead." "Isn't he?" "Something to say?" "I didn't know the sponge is supposed to be wet." "How many years you spend pissing on the toilet seat before someone told you to put it up?" "Percy fucked up, Hal." "Pure and simple." "That's your official position?" "Don't you think it should be?" "He's putting in for a transfer request to Briar Ridge tomorrow." "Moving on to bigger and better things." "Isn't that right, Percy?" "Barbecue" "Me and you Stinky, pinky" "Weren't Billy, Jilly, Hilly or Pa" "It was a French-fried Cajun Named Delacroix" "Barbecue" "Me and you" "Stinky, pinky" "Weren't Billy, Jilly..." "You're 10 seconds away from spending the rest of your life in the padded room." "Poor old Del." "Poor old Del." "You okay?" "I could feel it from here." "What do you mean?" "You could hear it." "Is that what you mean?" "You could hear it." "He out of it now, though." "He the lucky one." "No matter how it happened, Del the lucky one." "Where's Mr. Jingles?" "He run away under that door." "Don't think he'll be back." "He felt it too, through me." "Didn't mean to hurt him none." "All that hurt just spill out." "Awful tired now, boss." "Dog-tired." "Me too, John." "Me too." "I hate this." "I know." "I am so happy to see you." "Look at you." "We missed you at church." "My hair... — You look fine." "— I'm just a mess." "She's having one of her good days." "I thank God for that." "What's a bad day?" "Sometimes she's she's not herself anymore." "She swears." "She swears?" "It just pops out." "Most awful language you can imagine." "She doesn't even know she's doing it." "I didn't know she'd ever heard words like that." "To hear her say them in her sweet voice..." "I'm glad she's having a good day." "I'm glad for you and Jan." "Honey if you don't tell me what's on your mind I'm afraid I'll have to smother you with a pillow." "I'm thinking I love you." "I'm thinking I don't know what I would do if you were gone." "I'm also thinking I'm gonna have the boys over tomorrow." "Well, you sure do know how to cook chicken." "Well, thank you." "This is one delicious treat, ma'am, before I go to work." "I'm glad you're enjoying it." "Brutal, you gonna hog all them taters?" "Yes, I am." "Harry, you want some potatoes?" "Come on, now." "Soon we'll just see your feet sticking out of there, Brutus." "You all saw what he did to the mouse." "I could've gone the rest of the day without you bringing that up." "I could've gone the rest of the year." "He did the same thing to me." "He put his hands on me." "He took my bladder infection away." "It's true." "When he came home that day, he was all better." "Now, wait." "You're talking about an authentic healing?" "A praise-Jesus miracle?" "I am." "Well, if you say it, I accept it." "What's it got to do with us?" "You're thinking about Melinda." "Melinda?" "Melinda Moores?" "So, Paul, you really think you can help her?" "It's not a bladder infection or even a busted mouse... — ... but there might be a chance." "— Hold on now." "You're talking about our jobs." "Sneak a sick woman into a cellblock?" "No, Hal would never stand for that." "You know him." "He wouldn't believe anything, even if it fell on him." "So you're talking about taking John Coffey to her." "That's more than just our jobs, Paul." "That's prison time, we get caught." "— Dang right it is." "— No, not for you, Dean." "The way I figure it, you stay back on the Mile." "That way, you can deny everything." "Why do I have to stay behind?" "Our boy's grown up gone off to school." "Harry's girls, they're all married now." "Brutal's a single man." "You're the only one here with two children, another on the way." "Let's not discuss this as if we're thinking of doing it." "Brutal, help me out here." "I'm sure she's a fine woman." "The finest." "What is happening to her is an offense, Brutal to the eye and the ear and to the heart." "I have no doubt." "But we don't know her like you and Jan do." "And let's not forget, John Coffey is a murderer." "Now, what if he escapes?" "I'd hate to lose my job or go to prison but I'd hate worse to have a dead child on my conscience." "I don't think that's gonna happen." "In fact I don't think he did it at all." "I do not see God putting a gift like that in the hands of a man who'd kill a child." "That's a very tender notion, but the man is on death row for the crime." "And plus he's huge." "If he tried to get away, it'd take a lot of bullets to stop him." "We'd all have shotguns, in addition to side arms." "I'd insist on that." "If he tried anything, anything at all we'd have to take him down." "You understand?" "So tell us what you had in mind." "There it is." "I see it." "You think this is enough?" "I don't know." "You fellas thirsty?" "Fresh out of the icebox." "You bet." "That's swell, Brutal." "— Thanks." "— Oh, yeah." "Hot in here." "Boy, howdy." "Hey, hey." "I'm gonna get some too, ain't I?" "— My ass, you get some too." "— What makes you think you deserve any?" "Because I got a big pecker." "Well, the day report says he's been okay." "Hell, yeah, I been behaved." "Come on, now." "Don't be stingy hogs." "Come on." "Come on now, fellers." "Come on, boss." "I been good all day." "It's hot in here." "It's hot in this cell, and I'm dogged to drink." "I'm thirsty." "Why don't you give me some?" "Come on." "You gonna stay behaved?" "Come on, you clunk, give me that." "You promise me or I'll drink this myself right here." "Come on, now." "Don't be that way." "I'll be good." "Cup." "Anybody wants out, now's the time." "After this, there's no turning back." "So?" "We gonna do this?" "Sure." "That'd be just fine." "I'd like to take a ride." "Guess we're all in." "What is this?" "Payback." "That's right." "— No, you let me go!" "Let go of me!" "— Settle down." "— Let go!" "— Settle down." "What are you doing?" "Settle down." ""Miss Lotta Leadpipe."" "— What would your mother say?" "— You let go of me, you ignoramus." "I know people." "Big people!" "Percy, stick out your arms like a good lad." "No, I won't do it." "You can't make me." "You're dead wrong about that, you know." "You gonna put your arms up?" "A big man is ripping your ears off." "I'd do as he says." "There you go." "Please, Paul." "Please don't put me in with Wild Bill." "Please don't." "You would think that." "No, no, you can't do this to me." "You can't do this to me." "You can't." "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." "We can and we are." "We'll give you a few hours of quiet time to reflect on what you did to Del." "And if you get lonely, just think about Miss Leadpipe." "All right, let's go over it one more time." "What do you say if somebody stops by?" "Coffey got upset after lights out so we put the coat on him, locked him in the restraint room." "They hear kicking, they'll think it's him." "What about me?" "You're in Admin pulling Del's file, going over the witnesses on account of how big a screw-up the execution was." "We going for the ride now?" "That's right." "We going for the ride." "What about us, Dean?" "You, Harry, Percy, all down in the laundry doing your wash." "Probably take a few hours before you're back." "Where you think you going?" "You a bad man." "That's right, nigger." "Bad as you'd want." "What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" "What's wrong?" "Whole room, whole room's spinning." "It's like I'm shitty-ass drunk." "Had me some shine or or what?" "Niggers ought to have their own electric chair." "White man ought not to sit in no nigger electric chair." "No, sir." "He a bad man." "Look, boss." "It's Cassie, the lady in the rocking chair." "John, we have to be quiet now." "You see her?" "You see the lady?" "Yeah, we see her, John." "Come on." "Let's go." "Go, go!" "Now!" "All right, big boy." "Let's get moving." "Come on." "Upsy-daisy." "Do you know where we're taking you?" "Help a lady?" "That's right." "How do you know?" "Don't know." "Tell the truth, boss, I don't know much of anything." "I never have." "We can still turn back." "Boss, look." "Someone's up." "This was a mistake." "Christ, what were we thinking?" "It's too late now." "John, you stay." "Harry, you keep John here till we call you." "Who the hell goes there at 2:30 in the goddamn morning?" "It's us." "It's Paul and Brutal." "— It's us." "— Jesus." "It isn't a lockdown, is it?" "Or a riot?" "No." "Hal, for God's sakes, just take your finger off the trigger." "Are you hostages?" "Who's out there?" "— Who's by that truck?" "— Harry, the lights!" "John Coffey." "Halt!" "— Stay where you are!" "— Take it easy, now." "— Don't you move!" "— Wait!" "I'm warning you." "Halt or I'll shoot!" "— I said halt!" "— Hal, put the gun down!" "Who are you talking to down there?" "Goddamn it!" "Now, nobody is hurt." "And we are here to help." "Help what?" "I don't understand." "You're just gonna have to trust me." "What do you want?" "Make them go away!" "I don't want no salesmen in the middle of the night." "Tell them to take a flying fuck at a rolling..." "Just to help." "Just to help, boss." "That's all." "You can't." "No one can." "— Stay out of here!" "— Don't you go in there!" "— Whoever you are, just stay out!" "— Don't you do it!" "I'm not dressed for visitors." "You stop now." "You hear me?" "— Paul, I don't want him up there." "— Boss you just be quiet now." "It's all right, Hal." "It's all right." "Hal, watch." "Just watch him." "Don't come near me, pig-fucker." "Why do you have so many scars?" "Who hurt you so badly?" "Don't hardly remember, ma'am." "What's your name?" "John Coffey, ma'am." "Like the drink only not spelt the same." "Ma'am?" "Yes, John Coffey?" "I see it." "I see it." "What's happening?" "You be still now." "You be so quiet and so still." "Come on, John." "Sick it up." "Come on." "Cough it out like you done before." "He's choking." "Whatever he sucked out of her, he's choking on it." "I'll be fine." "Just let me be." "How did I get here?" "We were going to the hospital in Vicksburg." "Remember?" "Melly it doesn't matter." "It doesn't matter anymore." "Did I have the x-ray?" "Did I?" "Yes." "Yes." "It was clear." "There was no tumor." "Can you stand up?" "Can you turn around and see this lady?" "What's your name?" "John Coffey, ma'am." "Like the drink." "Only not spelt the same." "No, ma'am, not spelt the same at all." "No, you can't." "I dreamed of you." "I dreamed you were wandering in the dark." "And so was I." "And we found each other." "We found each other in the dark." "Take it, John." "It's a present." "It's St. Christopher." "I want you to have it, Mr. Coffey." "And wear it." "He'll keep you safe." "Please." "Wear it for me." "Thank you, ma'am." "Thank you, John." "Christ, he goes down, it'll take three mules and a crane to pick him up again." "Take it easy, John." "You gotta stay on your feet." "He'll never sit in Old Sparky." "You know that, don't you?" "He swallowed that stuff for a reason." "I give him a few days." "One of us will do a cell check, and he'll be dead on his bunk." "Well, if that's his choice, he's earned it." "Let's just get him back on the Mile." "Am I happy to see you." "You were gone so long." "Wild Bill's making noise like he's waking up." "What happened to him?" "He's hurting, Dean." "He's hurting bad." "Okay, John." "We're gonna set you down on your bed now." "Here we go." "Well?" "What about Mrs. Moores?" "Was it like the mouse?" "Was it you know, a miracle?" "Yes, it was." "Damn!" "Now I want to talk, not shout." "I take that tape off, you gonna be calm?" "My mama always said you do it fast, it won't hurt so much." "Guess she was wrong." "Let me out of this nut-coat." "— In a minute." "— Now!" "Right now!" "I want out now!" "Shut up and listen." "You deserved to be punished for what you did to Del." "Accept it like a man." "Or else we'll make you sorry you were ever born." "We'll tell people how you sabotaged Del's execution and pissed yourself like a frightened little girl." "Yes, we will talk." "But, Percy you mind me now." "We'll also see you beaten within an inch of your life." "We know people too." "Are you so foolish, you don't realize that?" "Let bygones be bygones." "Nothing's hurt so far but your pride." "No one ever need know about that, except the people in this little room." "What happens on the Mile stays on the Mile." "Always has." "May I be let out of this coat now?" "My things?" "Think it over, Percy." "I intend to." "I intend to think it over very hard." "Starting right now." "He'll talk." "Sooner or later." "— Hey, let him go!" "— John, let go!" "Let go, John!" "John, goddamn it!" "Let him go!" "Let go, John!" "No!" "Back off!" "John, stop it!" "Let him go!" "Back off!" "John, let him go!" "Oh, my God!" "Easy, now." "Easy." "Easy." "Are you all right?" "Boy, what you looking at?" "What you looking at?" "You limp noodle." "You wanna kiss my ass?" "You wanna suck my dick?" "Grab the gun!" "Grab the gun!" "I punished them bad men." "I punished them both." "Why?" "Why Wild Bill?" "I saw in his heart when he grabbed my arm." "I saw what Wild Billy'd done." "Saw it plain as day." "You can't hide what's in your heart." "What?" "You saw what?" "Take my hand, boss." "You see for yourself." "No." "Please." "No, no." "Please." "I gots to, boss." "I gots to give you a little bit of myself." "A gift." "A gift of what's inside of me so you can see for yourself." "Suppertime!" "Bring the girls!" "Girls!" "You heard your mama!" "Yes, Papa!" "We're coming!" "Come on, Billy." "I worked you enough for one day." "Come get you some supper." "God is great, God is good, and we thank You..." "You love your sister?" "You make any noise, you know what happens?" "I'm gonna kill her instead of you." "You make any noise, I'm gonna kill her." "You understand?" "You understand?" "He killed them with they love, they love for each other." "Now you see how it is." "That's the way it is every day." "That's the way it is all over the world." "Percy." "Percy Wetmore." "Son?" "Son?" "— Son, can you hear me?" "— Speak up if you can hear us." "I think this boy's cheese slid off his cracker." "Percy, I got to ask you a few questions." "One minute, he was fine, and the next, blammo!" "Dirty bastard grabbed him through the bars." "Scared the boy so bad, he wet hisself." "See, we didn't even see it happen." "I'll cover for you as much as I can even if it means my job." "But I have to know does this have anything to do with what happened at my house?" "Does it, Paul?" "No." "Does Hal know?" "That Coffey's innocent, I mean." "Well, can he help?" "Does he have the influence to do something about this?" "Stop the execution?" "No." "Then don't tell him." "If it can't help, don't tell him." "Ever." "I won't." "There's no way out of this for you, is there?" "No." "And I've been thinking about it, believe me." "I've been running it through my head any number of ways." "I'll tell you the truth, honey." "I've done some things in my life that I am not proud of but this is the first time I've ever felt real danger of hell." "Hell?" "Talk to him." "Talk to John." "Find out what he wants." "Hello, boss." "Hello, John." "I guess you know we're coming down to it now." "Another couple of days." "Is there anything special you wanna eat that night?" "We can rustle you up most anything." "Meat loaf be nice." "Mashed taters, gravy." "Okra." "Maybe some of that fine corn bread your missus make if she don't mind." "Now what about a preacher?" "Somebody to say a little prayer with." "Don't want no preacher." "You can say a prayer, if you like." "Me?" "Suppose I could, if it came to that." "I have to ask you something very important now." "I know what you gonna say." "You don't have to say it." "No, I do." "I do." "I have to say it." "Tell me what you want me to do." "You want me to take you out of here?" "Just let you run away?" "See how far you could get?" "Why would you do such a foolish thing?" "On the day of my judgment when I stand before God and He asks me why did I did I kill one of His true miracles what am I going to say?" "That it was my job?" "It's my job." "You tell God the Father it was a kindness you done." "I know you're hurting and worrying." "I can feel it on you." "But you ought to quit on it now." "I want it to be over and done with." "I do." "I'm tired, boss." "Tired of being on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain." "I'm tired of never having me a buddy to be with to tell me where we's going to, coming from, or why." "Mostly, I'm tired of people being ugly to each other." "I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world every day." "There's too much of it." "It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time." "Can you understand?" "Yes, John, I think I can." "Well, there must be something we can do for you, John." "There must be something that you want." "I ain't never seen me a flicker show." "Heaven" "I'm in heaven" "And my heart beats so That I can hardly speak" "And I seem to find The happiness I seek" "When we're out together Dancing cheek to cheek" "Why, they's angels." "Angels, just like up in heaven." "I'll be all right, fellas." "This here's the hard part." "I'll be all right in a while." "I should have this just for now." "I'll give it back after." "You know, I fell asleep this afternoon and had me a dream." "I dreamed about Del's mouse." "Did you, John?" "I dreamed Mr. Jingles got down to that place Boss Howell talked about." "That Mouseville place." "I dreamed there's kids." "And how they laughed at his tricks." "My!" "I dreamed that those two little blonde-headed girls was there." "They's laughing too." "I put my arms around them and set them on my knees." "And they was no blood coming out of they hair, and they's just fine." "We all watched Mr. Jingles roll that spool." "How we did laugh." "Fit to bust, we was!" "They's lots of folks here that hate me." "Lots!" "I can feel it." "It's like bees stinging me." "Well, feel how we feel, then." "We don't hate you." "Can you feel that?" "Kill him twice, you boys!" "You go on and kill that raping babykiller twice!" "That'd be fine!" "Wipe your face before you stand up, Dean." "Yes, sir." "Roll on one." "Does it hurt yet?" "I hope it does." "I hope it hurts like hell." "John Coffey, you've been condemned to die in the electric chair by a jury of your peers." "Sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this state." "Do you have anything to say before sentence is carried out?" "I'm sorry for what I am." "Please, boss don't put that thing over my face." "Don't put me in the dark." "I's afraid of the dark." "All right, John." "Heaven, I'm in heaven" "Heaven, heaven" "I'm in heaven" "Heaven, heaven" "I'm in heaven" "John Coffey electricity shall pass through your body until you are dead in accordance with state law." "May God have mercy on your soul." "You have to say it." "You have to give the order." "He killed them with they love." "That's how it is every day all over the world." "Roll on two." "It was the last execution I ever took part in." "I just couldn't do it anymore after that." "Brutal either." "We both transferred out, took jobs with Boys' Correctional." "It was all right." ""Catch them young" became my motto." "You don't believe me." "I don't imagine you'd lie to me, Paul." "— It's just that..." "— It's quite a story." "It's quite a story." "One thing I don't understand." "You said you and Jan had a grown son in 1935." "Is that right?" "The math doesn't work, does it?" "Do you feel up to taking a walk?" "Watch your step." "Now let your eyes adjust." "There." "Wake up, old fella." "Wake up." "Paul, it isn't." "It can't be." "Come over here, boy." "Come on over here and see this lady." "That can't be Mr. Jingles." "Go on, you can do it." "This isn't exactly the Mouseville we had in mind, is it?" "But we make do." "Don't we, old fella?" "I think Mr. Jingles happened by accident." "I think when we electrocuted Del, and it all went so badly well, John could feel that, you know." "And I think a part of whatever magic was inside of him just leapt into my tiny friend here." "As for me John had to give me a part of himself a gift, the way he saw it so that I could see for myself what Wild Bill had done." "When John did that when he took my hand a part of the power that worked through him spilled into me." "He... what?" "He infected you with life?" "It's as good a word as any." "He infected us both, didn't he, Mr. Jingles?" "With life." "I'm 108 years old, Elaine." "I was 44 the year that John Coffey walked the Green Mile." "You mustn't blame John." "He couldn't help what happened." "He was just a force of nature." "I've lived to see some amazing things, Ellie." "Another century come to pass." "But I've had to see my friends and loved ones die off through the years." "Hal and Melinda Brutus Howell my wife, my boy." "And you, Elaine." "You'll die too." "And my curse is knowing that I'll be there to see it." "It's my atonement, you see." "It's my punishment for letting John Coffey ride the lightning." "For killing a miracle of God." "Almighty, everlasting God the source of all being and life." "You'll be gone like all the others." "I'll have to stay." "I'll die eventually." "Of that I'm sure." "I have no illusions of immortality." "But I will have wished for death long before death finds me." "In truth, I wish for it already." "Mr. Jingles?" "Where you been?" "Been worried about you, boy." "You hungry?" "Let's see if we can find you something to eat." "A few crumbs anyway." "I know you'd like that." "Look at you." "I lie in bed most nights thinking about it." "And I wait." "I think about all the people I've loved now long gone." "I think about my beautiful Jan how I lost her so many years ago." "And I think about all of us walking our own Green Mile each in our own time." "But one thought more than any other keeps me awake most nights:" "If he could make a mouse live so long how much longer do I have?" "We each owe a death." "There are no exceptions." "But, oh, God sometimes the Green Mile seems so long."