Of Mice and MenSteinbeck originally titled it Something That Happened, however he changed the title after reading Robert Burns' poem, To a Mouse. That poem tells of the regret the narrator feels for having destroyed the home of a mouse while plowing his field. In essence, it suggests that no plan is fool-proof and no one can be completely prepared for the future.The line from the poem: "To a Mouse" is often translated into English as: "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry (or astray)." However, the original Burns Scottish is: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley."