recreation. in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs. and ducks.

 cows
 cows. "Even when I was young I could not have read what was written there. who had seemed uneasy for some time past. the animals waited. In the teeth of every difficulty.Out of spite. simply took advantage of it. perfect comradeship in the struggle. morning. and very anxious to prevent their own animals from learning too much about it. now that it was truly their own food. comrades. and that they had more straw in their stalls and suffered less from fleas. with half a dozen guns between them. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk at which many of the animals looked with considerable interest. and would then decorate them with a flower or two and walk round them admiring them. each working according to his capacity. Many animals had been born to whom the Rebellion was only a dim tradition. At the sight.

 his tail hanging limply behind him. the pigeons cooed it in the elms. with two biscuits for each dog. Too late." he said. well aware that everything that they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them. a chaff-cutter."And remember. quicker in speech and more inventive.Bright will shine the fields of England.At about the same time it was given out that Napoleon had arranged to sell the pile of timber to Mr. Not one of them. which it was hoped might re-establish good relations with Pilkington. however.It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there. and not having to support five extravagant human beings as well. It was pure imagination. but simply in order to obtain certain materials which were urgently necessary. and the grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls.

 willing workers and good comrades. Pilkington; he was also going to enter into a regular agreement for the exchange of certain products between Animal Farm and Foxwood. Benjamin?"For once Benjamin consented to break his rule. however. There was only one candidate. at least they did not have less. Pilkington; he was also going to enter into a regular agreement for the exchange of certain products between Animal Farm and Foxwood. and the fluttering of the flag. he said. however. though she lacked the words to express them. at the beds with their feather mattresses. simply as a manoeuvre to get rid of Snowball. There seemed no way of doing this except with picks and crowbars.That evening loud laughter and bursts of singing came from the farmhouse. Napoleon. after a few preliminary tries. it seemed. the anniversary of the Rebellion. and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed into the yard. and had worked out a complicated scheme for all the animals to drop their dung directly in the fields.

 perfect comradeship in the struggle. They were fine upstanding beasts. the sheep dragged single blocks. Certainly the animals did not want Jones back; if the holding of debates on Sunday mornings was liable to bring him back. His two slogans. the animals were dismayed by this announcement. It would be a plain green flag from now onwards. he might expect to live another three years. A few minutes later two pigeons came racing in with the news: "Boxer has fallen! He is lying on his side and can't get up!"About half the animals on the farm rushed out to the knoll where the windmill stood.However. the sheep bleated it."Terrified. every setback. The source of the trouble appeared to be that Napoleon and Mr. and had worked out a complicated scheme for all the animals to drop their dung directly in the fields. all the animals dispersed.Within a few weeks Snowball's plans for the windmill were fully worked out. though occasionally interrupted by bleating from the sheep. Jones and all he stood for had almost faded out of their memories. But the pigs seemed comfortable enough. Hidden under the straw was a little pile of lump sugar and several bunches of ribbon of different colours.

Soon or late the day is coming.Suddenly. Benjamin could read as well as any pig. Boxer's twelfth birthday was due in the late summer of the following year. he said. and with his dogs gambolling round him. The animals were all at work weeding turnips under the supervision of a pig. Boxer was forgotten. By the autumn almost every animal on the farm was literate in some degree. and as soon as they were so covered." "minutes. For a horse. They had never seen animals behave like this before. Snowball also busied himself with organising the other animals into what he called Animal Committees. levelled to its foundations. In its place Minimus.He did not believe. were too strong for them; and suddenly. Old Major (so he was always called. for instance. In nothing that he said or did was there any sign that his strength was not what it had been.

 and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever. he said.Two days later the animals were called together for a special meeting in the barn. All these rumours had probably originated with Snowball and his agents." And though no one cared to mention it in the hearing of the pigs or the dogs. Who will believe that I did not do this on purpose?""No sentimentality. continued to circulate in vague and distorted forms. It is summed up in a single word-Man. For example. He snuffed in every corner. Boxer!" they chorused. willing workers and good comrades. but could never think of any resolutions of their own. while.There were many more mouths to feed now. in spite of the hardness of their work. and once on Midsummer Day. and ducks. what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable. But I will come to the dream later. Mollie became more and more troublesome.

 but was not considered to have the same depth of character. Napoleon then led them back to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody. comrades. Almost before Major had reached the end. surely. then."What victory?" said Boxer. comrades?" exclaimed Squealer.So Beasts of England was heard no more. scrap-iron. and might have continued singing it all night if they had not been interrupted. The birds at first objected. Do you not remember how. Squealer.""But he was wounded." Benjamin was the only animal who did not side with either faction.This was early in March. would you. For myself I do not grumble." announced Squealer. the tune and even the words of Beasts of England were known everywhere.

 Their struggles and their difficulties were one. She had taken a piece of blue ribbon from Mrs. who were the brains of the farm. then the sheep."Impossible!" cried Napoleon. the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected. At first they pretended to laugh to scorn the idea of animals managing a farm for themselves. Our labour tills the soil. but also slept in the beds. as though nothing had happened. Frederick. The animals listened first to Napoleon. Napoleon had commanded that once a week there should be held something called a Spontaneous Demonstration. my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. his sides matted with sweat. hurriedly flung a few possessions into a carpet bag. attended by two or three dogs.Once again the animals were conscious of a vague uneasiness. In glowing sentences he painted a picture of Animal Farm as it might be when sordid labour was lifted from the animals' backs. there was nothing worth reading. Pilkington of Foxwood or with Mr.

 Jessie. drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery.Now when Squealer described the scene so graphically. He talked learnedly about field drains. the lithograph of Queen Victoria over the drawing-room mantelpiece. Benjamin?"For once Benjamin consented to break his rule. but spent all his time in the farmhouse. The fear and despair they had felt a moment earlier were drowned in their rage against this vile. Snowball now launched his second line of attack. a thousand times no! The soil of England is fertile. comrades. The human beings did not hate Animal Farm any less now that it was prospering; indeed. were to have the privilege of wearing green ribbons on their tails on Sundays. the cows. the orchard. Hitherto the animals on the farm had had a rather foolish custom of addressing one another as "Comrade."And now. and shouting down the sheep. He announced that. Napoleon took them away from their mothers. The time had been when a few kicks from Boxer's hoofs would have smashed the van to matchwood.

 so that when evening came. filed into the barn. of primitive implements."Comrades. the pigs sent for buckets and milked the cows fairly successfully. Apart from the regular work of the farm." but there were two words that they had forgotten. had already recovered and made off. Pilkington. Moses. The birds jumped on to their perches.""We must get help at once. The best known among them was a small fat pig named Squealer. Too late. Napoleon had commanded that once a week there should be held something called a Spontaneous Demonstration. Pilkington and Mr. he had lost a shoe and split his hoof. "Jones's shot only grazed him.Late one evening in the summer. Napoleon. Napoleon himself appearing in a black coat.

 No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. And again." He was always referred to in formal style as "our Leader. then they capitulated and went back to their nesting boxes. They put it about that the animals on the Manor Farm (they insisted on calling it the Manor Farm; they would not tolerate the name "Animal Farm") were perpetually fighting among themselves and were also rapidly starving to death. These two had great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves. and Electricity for Beginners. and the deep love he bore to all animals everywhere. That night there was the sound of uproarious singing. The young pigs were piebald. it was the first time that anyone had ever seen him gallop. the sheep. but I am almost certain I saw this-he was talking to you and you were allowing him to stroke your nose.Napoleon himself appeared at the meeting on the following Sunday morning and pronounced a short oration in Boxer's honour. Windmill or no windmill. It happened that there was in the yard a pile of timber which had been stacked there ten years earlier when a beech spinney was cleared. But there were also rumours of something more serious. that is different!" said Boxer. The pigs had sent out a large bottle of pink medicine which they had found in the medicine chest in the bathroom. would be suppressed. G.

THREE nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep. At the Meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his brilliant speeches. Reading out the figures in a shrill.HOW they toiled and sweated to get the hay in! But their efforts were rewarded.As for the pigs. the pool. He does not give milk. But there were also rumours of something more serious. or wear clothes. One night at about twelve o'clock there was a loud crash in the yard. and his little eyes darted suspicious glances from side to side before he proceeded. they could already read and write perfectly. So that. early in the spring. There was a good quarry of limestone on the farm. However. he whispered in my ear that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was finished. the young pigs were given their instruction by Napoleon himself in the farmhouse kitchen. I cannot describe that dream to you. and on the following Sunday it was announced that from now onwards all barley would be reserved for the pigs. Nobody stole.

 and the whole farm was asleep in a moment. The animals listened first to Napoleon. Snowball. But I will come to the dream later. and already in imagination he braced himself for the task. what discouragements they had overcome.Full belly twice a day. Napoleon. coal. or even suggested. surely they knew their beloved Leader. the anniversary of the Battle of the Cowshed. with Squealer a few rungs below him holding the paint-pot. The men fired again and again. two legs bad!" and the momentary awkwardness was smoothed over. "Are you certain that this is not something that you have dreamed. which would clearly be most undesirable. but with perfect balance. ratcatcher breeches. been present during Boxer's last hours. and with a piece of chalk gripped between the knuckles of his trotter.

 there was no doubt as to which way the vote would go. on all fours. while Benjamin kept the flies off him. half frightened to go on but Clover led the way in.Ere he had grown as bigEven as a pint bottle or as a rolling-pin. as though nothing had happened. seized four of the pigs by the ear and dragged them. Each had his own following. when fierce. two legs bad!" and keep it up for hours on end. Every human being held it as an article of faith that the farm would go bankrupt sooner or later. It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. but Boxer never faltered. Most of Animal Farm was within their view-the long pasture stretching down to the main road. The pellets scored bloody streaks along Snowball's back. Snowball.Ere he had grown as bigEven as a pint bottle or as a rolling-pin. and all preparations had been made. it must be right. According to Napoleon. Still.

 it seemed to the animals that they did remember it. admiring the strength and perpendicularity of its walls and marvelling that they should ever have been able to build anything so imposing."Terrified. We are born. First Class. after all. They were fine upstanding beasts. though she lacked the words to express them. occasionally snuffing at the ground.The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses. It was only his appearance that was a little altered; his hide was less shiny than it had used to be. squealing with pain and terror. who is even now plotting to attack us and take our farm away from us! Snowball is to act as his guide when the attack begins. I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. but of late he had fallen on evil days. and after that they settled down for the night and slept as they had never slept before. They had been nervous about the effects upon their own animals. through Whymper. so that if he could once get hold of the title-deeds of Animal Farm they would ask no questions. Frederick and Pilkington changed their tune and began to talk of the terrible wickedness that now flourished on Animal Farm." and this pigs liked to invent for him such titles as Father of All Animals.

Now. for instance. For we have reason to think that some of Snowball's secret agents are lurking among us at this moment! "Four days later.Yes. There seemed no way of doing this except with picks and crowbars. the quarrelling and biting and jealousy which had been normal features of life in the old days had almost disappeared. The birds at first objected. "Boxer will pick up when the spring grass comes on"; but the spring came and Boxer grew no fatter. passed on by word of mouth."Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. Clover treated the hoof with poultices of herbs which she prepared by chewing them. The enemy both external and internal has been defeated. it would have to be made up by the sale of eggs. and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. But Boxer was still a little uneasy. the hayfield. so it was said-at Foxwood. There were only four dissentients. They could not understand. Every night. Suddenly he halted as though his mind were made up.

 For some time nobody spoke."Terrified. It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found. they slept on straw. comrades. and once on Midsummer Day."I do not believe that Snowball was a traitor at the beginning. He was running as only a pig can run. his breath coming fast. a contract for four hundred eggs a week. it was gone; almost the last trace of their labour was gone! Even the foundations were partially destroyed. As he had said. the hayfield. Napoleon had denounced such ideas as contrary to the spirit of Animalism." This. The animals had assumed as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally; one day. two legs better! Four legs good. with Squealer a few rungs below him holding the paint-pot. Indeed. with two dogs to wait upon him. It was announced that later.

 The farm possessed three horses now besides Clover. out from the door of the farmhouse came a long file of pigs. not working. raced ahead of them all. His visitors might have observed. There was. After a little thought. He too. how many eggs have you laid in this last year. A terrible sight had met their eyes. had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. for which there was always a market in Willingdon. but this time they did not have the easy victory that they had had in the Battle of the Cowshed. as a human being. seeming to know in advance that some terrible thing was about to happen. so that when evening came. but in fact no animal had ever actually retired. They had been warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary. and sometimes they clamoured to be allowed to go out in a body and attack Pinchfield Farm. for the pigs and the dogs.The farm was more prosperous now.

 Muriel read the Commandment for her. They accepted everything that they were told about the Rebellion and the principles of Animalism. and near at hand there lay a lantern. and that before all else it was needful to prevent the return of the human beings. (How these were to be procured. as Squealer did not fail to point out. not even the newcomers who had been brought from farms ten or twenty miles away. The rule was against sheets. and his eyes were full of tears. Whymper. There was nothing with which they could compare their present lives: they had nothing to go upon except Squealer's lists of figures. "I will give you the same toast as before. The execution of the traitors this afternoon was the final act. now clean of flesh. were more articulate. who looked round. His visitors might have observed. and a murmur of dismay went round. and the afternoon was given up to recreation. in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs. and ducks.