From 89eed10ae9034dd334eddd3cb305e2a355dfa291 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Aleksey Veresov Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2020 12:05:37 +0300 Subject: . --- README | 2852 +--------------------------------------------------------------- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 2851 deletions(-) (limited to 'README') diff --git a/README b/README index eecd4f9..f8eda72 100644 --- a/README +++ b/README @@ -12,2854 +12,4 @@ Decrypted README will be in README.copy. -Following text is added for more stable work: - - - - _ _ ______ - /\ (_) | | | ____| - / \ _ __ _ _ __ ___ __ _| | | |__ __ _ _ __ _ __ ___ - / /\ \ | '_ \| | '_ ` _ \ / _` | | | __/ _` | '__| '_ ` _ \ - / ____ \| | | | | | | | | | (_| | | | | | (_| | | | | | | | | - /_/ \_\_| |_|_|_| |_| |_|\__,_|_| |_| \__,_|_| |_| |_| |_| - by George Orwell - - - - Chapter I - - - -Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but -was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes. With the ring of light -from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, -kicked off his boots at the back door, drew himself a last glass of beer -from the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed, where -Mrs. Jones was already snoring. - -As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a -fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the -day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream -on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. -It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as -Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major (so he was always called, -though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) -was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose -an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say. - -At one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was -already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a -beam. He was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he -was still a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance in -spite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. Before long the -other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their -different fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and -Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in -front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, -the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down -behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and -Clover, came in together, walking very slowly and setting down their vast -hairy hoofs with great care lest there should be some small animal -concealed in the straw. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching -middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. -Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as -any two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave -him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rate -intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of -character and tremendous powers of work. After the horses came Muriel, -the white goat, and Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal -on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it -was usually to make some cynical remark--for instance, he would say that -God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner -have had no tail and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he -never laughed. If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. -Nevertheless, without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer; the -two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock -beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking. - -The two horses had just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had -lost their mother, filed into the barn, cheeping feebly and wandering from -side to side to find some place where they would not be trodden on. Clover -made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklings -nestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. At the last moment -Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap, came -mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar. She took a place near the -front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the -red ribbons it was plaited with. Last of all came the cat, who looked -round, as usual, for the warmest place, and finally squeezed herself in -between Boxer and Clover; there she purred contentedly throughout Major's -speech without listening to a word of what he was saying. - -All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept -on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made -themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat -and began: - -"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last -night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say -first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months -longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom -as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for -thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I -understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now -living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you. - -"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: -our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given -just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us -who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; -and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are -slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning -of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is -free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth. - -"But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land -of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell -upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The soil of England is -fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance -to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. This -single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of -sheep--and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now -almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable -condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen -from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our -problems. It is summed up in a single word--Man. Man is the only real -enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and -overwork is abolished for ever. - -"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not -give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he -cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the -animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that -will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our -labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of -us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, how -many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? -And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up -sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. -And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many -of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market -to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those -four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your -old age? Each was sold at a year old--you will never see one of them -again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the -fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall? - -"And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their -natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. -I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the -natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. -You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will -scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all -must come--cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs -have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of -yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut -your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when -they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and -drowns them in the nearest pond. - -"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life -of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and -the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could -become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body -and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, -comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might -be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this -straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your -eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And -above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so -that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious. - -"And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument -must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the -animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the -prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no -creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, -perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are -comrades." - -At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking -four large rats had crept out of their holes and were sitting on their -hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of -them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved -their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence. - -"Comrades," he said, "here is a point that must be settled. The wild -creatures, such as rats and rabbits--are they our friends or our enemies? -Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are -rats comrades?" - -The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority -that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs -and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides. -Major continued: - -"I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of -enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an -enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And -remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble -him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal -must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink -alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the -habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over -his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No -animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal. - -"And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot -describe that dream to you. It was a dream of the earth as it will be when -Man has vanished. But it reminded me of something that I had long -forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the -other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and -the first three words. I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had -long since passed out of my mind. Last night, however, it came back to me -in my dream. And what is more, the words of the song also came back-words, -I am certain, which were sung by the animals of long ago and have been -lost to memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. -I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you -can sing it better for yourselves. It is called 'Beasts of England'." - -Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice -was hoarse, but he sang well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something -between 'Clementine' and 'La Cucaracha'. The words ran: - -Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, -Beasts of every land and clime, -Hearken to my joyful tidings -Of the golden future time. - -Soon or late the day is coming, -Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown, -And the fruitful fields of England -Shall be trod by beasts alone. - -Rings shall vanish from our noses, -And the harness from our back, -Bit and spur shall rust forever, -Cruel whips no more shall crack. - -Riches more than mind can picture, -Wheat and barley, oats and hay, -Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels -Shall be ours upon that day. - -Bright will shine the fields of England, -Purer shall its waters be, -Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes -On the day that sets us free. - -For that day we all must labour, -Though we die before it break; -Cows and horses, geese and turkeys, -All must toil for freedom's sake. - -Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, -Beasts of every land and clime, -Hearken well and spread my tidings -Of the golden future time. - - -The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. -Almost before Major had reached the end, they had begun singing it for -themselves. Even the stupidest of them had already picked up the tune and -a few of the words, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs, -they had the entire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a -few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into 'Beasts of England' in -tremendous unison. The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep -bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so -delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in -succession, and might have continued singing it all night if they had not -been interrupted. - -Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr. Jones, who sprang out of bed, making -sure that there was a fox in the yard. He seized the gun which always -stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot -into the darkness. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn -and the meeting broke up hurriedly. Everyone fled to his own -sleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled -down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment. - - - - - Chapter II - - - -Three nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep. His body was -buried at the foot of the orchard. - -This was early in March. During the next three months there was much -secret activity. Major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals -on the farm a completely new outlook on life. They did not know when the -Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for -thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly -that it was their duty to prepare for it. The work of teaching and -organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally -recognised as being the cleverest of the animals. Pre-eminent among the -pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was -breeding up for sale. Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking -Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but -with a reputation for getting his own way. Snowball was a more vivacious -pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not -considered to have the same depth of character. All the other male pigs on -the farm were porkers. The best known among them was a small fat pig named -Squealer, with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements, and a -shrill voice. He was a brilliant talker, and when he was arguing some -difficult point he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking -his tail which was somehow very persuasive. The others said of Squealer -that he could turn black into white. - -These three had elaborated old Major's teachings into a complete system of -thought, to which they gave the name of Animalism. Several nights a week, -after Mr. Jones was asleep, they held secret meetings in the barn and -expounded the principles of Animalism to the others. At the beginning they -met with much stupidity and apathy. Some of the animals talked of the duty -of loyalty to Mr. Jones, whom they referred to as "Master," or made -elementary remarks such as "Mr. Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should -starve to death." Others asked such questions as "Why should we care what -happens after we are dead?" or "If this Rebellion is to happen anyway, -what difference does it make whether we work for it or not?", and the pigs -had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to the -spirit of Animalism. The stupidest questions of all were asked by Mollie, -the white mare. The very first question she asked Snowball was: "Will -there still be sugar after the Rebellion?" - -"No," said Snowball firmly. "We have no means of making sugar on this -farm. Besides, you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay -you want." - -"And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?" asked Mollie. - -"Comrade," said Snowball, "those ribbons that you are so devoted to are -the badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more -than ribbons?" - -Mollie agreed, but she did not sound very convinced. - -The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by -Moses, the tame raven. Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy -and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed to know of -the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which -all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, -a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it -was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and -lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses -because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in -Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them -that there was no such place. - -Their most faithful disciples were the two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover. -These two had great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, -but having once accepted the pigs as their teachers, they absorbed -everything that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals by -simple arguments. They were unfailing in their attendance at the secret -meetings in the barn, and led the singing of 'Beasts of England', with -which the meetings always ended. - -Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more -easily than anyone had expected. In past years Mr. Jones, although a hard -master, had been a capable farmer, but of late he had fallen on evil days. -He had become much disheartened after losing money in a lawsuit, and had -taken to drinking more than was good for him. For whole days at a time he -would lounge in his Windsor chair in the kitchen, reading the newspapers, -drinking, and occasionally feeding Moses on crusts of bread soaked in -beer. His men were idle and dishonest, the fields were full of weeds, the -buildings wanted roofing, the hedges were neglected, and the animals were -underfed. - -June came and the hay was almost ready for cutting. On Midsummer's Eve, -which was a Saturday, Mr. Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk at -the Red Lion that he did not come back till midday on Sunday. The men had -milked the cows in the early morning and then had gone out rabbiting, -without bothering to feed the animals. When Mr. Jones got back he -immediately went to sleep on the drawing-room sofa with the News of the -World over his face, so that when evening came, the animals were still -unfed. At last they could stand it no longer. One of the cows broke in the -door of the store-shed with her horn and all the animals began to help -themselves from the bins. It was just then that Mr. Jones woke up. The -next moment he and his four men were in the store-shed with whips in their -hands, lashing out in all directions. This was more than the hungry -animals could bear. With one accord, though nothing of the kind had been -planned beforehand, they flung themselves upon their tormentors. Jones and -his men suddenly found themselves being butted and kicked from all sides. -The situation was quite out of their control. They had never seen animals -behave like this before, and this sudden uprising of creatures whom they -were used to thrashing and maltreating just as they chose, frightened them -almost out of their wits. After only a moment or two they gave up trying -to defend themselves and took to their heels. A minute later all five of -them were in full flight down the cart-track that led to the main road, -with the animals pursuing them in triumph. - -Mrs. Jones looked out of the bedroom window, saw what was happening, -hurriedly flung a few possessions into a carpet bag, and slipped out of -the farm by another way. Moses sprang off his perch and flapped after her, -croaking loudly. Meanwhile the animals had chased Jones and his men out on -to the road and slammed the five-barred gate behind them. And so, almost -before they knew what was happening, the Rebellion had been successfully -carried through: Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs. - -For the first few minutes the animals could hardly believe in their good -fortune. Their first act was to gallop in a body right round the -boundaries of the farm, as though to make quite sure that no human being -was hiding anywhere upon it; then they raced back to the farm buildings to -wipe out the last traces of Jones's hated reign. The harness-room at the -end of the stables was broken open; the bits, the nose-rings, the -dog-chains, the cruel knives with which Mr. Jones had been used to -castrate the pigs and lambs, were all flung down the well. The reins, the -halters, the blinkers, the degrading nosebags, were thrown on to the -rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were the whips. All the -animals capered with joy when they saw the whips going up in flames. -Snowball also threw on to the fire the ribbons with which the horses' -manes and tails had usually been decorated on market days. - -"Ribbons," he said, "should be considered as clothes, which are the mark -of a human being. All animals should go naked." - -When Boxer heard this he fetched the small straw hat which he wore in -summer to keep the flies out of his ears, and flung it on to the fire with -the rest. - -In a very little while the animals had destroyed everything that reminded -them of Mr. Jones. Napoleon then led them back to the store-shed and -served out a double ration of corn to everybody, with two biscuits for -each dog. Then they sang 'Beasts of England' from end to end seven times -running, and after that they settled down for the night and slept as they -had never slept before. - -But they woke at dawn as usual, and suddenly remembering the glorious -thing that had happened, they all raced out into the pasture together. A -little way down the pasture there was a knoll that commanded a view of -most of the farm. The animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round them -in the clear morning light. Yes, it was theirs--everything that they could -see was theirs! In the ecstasy of that thought they gambolled round and -round, they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement. -They rolled in the dew, they cropped mouthfuls of the sweet summer grass, -they kicked up clods of the black earth and snuffed its rich scent. Then -they made a tour of inspection of the whole farm and surveyed with -speechless admiration the ploughland, the hayfield, the orchard, the pool, -the spinney. It was as though they had never seen these things before, and -even now they could hardly believe that it was all their own. - -Then they filed back to the farm buildings and halted in silence outside -the door of the farmhouse. That was theirs too, but they were frightened -to go inside. After a moment, however, Snowball and Napoleon butted the -door open with their shoulders and the animals entered in single file, -walking with the utmost care for fear of disturbing anything. They tiptoed -from room to room, afraid to speak above a whisper and gazing with a kind -of awe at the unbelievable luxury, at the beds with their feather -mattresses, the looking-glasses, the horsehair sofa, the Brussels carpet, -the lithograph of Queen Victoria over the drawing-room mantelpiece. They -were just coming down the stairs when Mollie was discovered to be missing. -Going back, the others found that she had remained behind in the best -bedroom. She had taken a piece of blue ribbon from Mrs. Jones's -dressing-table, and was holding it against her shoulder and admiring -herself in the glass in a very foolish manner. The others reproached her -sharply, and they went outside. Some hams hanging in the kitchen were -taken out for burial, and the barrel of beer in the scullery was stove in -with a kick from Boxer's hoof, otherwise nothing in the house was touched. -A unanimous resolution was passed on the spot that the farmhouse should be -preserved as a museum. All were agreed that no animal must ever live there. - -The animals had their breakfast, and then Snowball and Napoleon called -them together again. - -"Comrades," said Snowball, "it is half-past six and we have a long day -before us. Today we begin the hay harvest. But there is another matter -that must be attended to first." - -The pigs now revealed that during the past three months they had taught -themselves to read and write from an old spelling book which had belonged -to Mr. Jones's children and which had been thrown on the rubbish heap. -Napoleon sent for pots of black and white paint and led the way down to -the five-barred gate that gave on to the main road. Then Snowball (for it -was Snowball who was best at writing) took a brush between the two -knuckles of his trotter, painted out MANOR FARM from the top bar of the -gate and in its place painted ANIMAL FARM. This was to be the name of the -farm from now onwards. After this they went back to the farm buildings, -where Snowball and Napoleon sent for a ladder which they caused to be set -against the end wall of the big barn. They explained that by their studies -of the past three months the pigs had succeeded in reducing the principles -of Animalism to Seven Commandments. These Seven Commandments would now be -inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law by which all the -animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after. With some difficulty -(for it is not easy for a pig to balance himself on a ladder) Snowball -climbed up and set to work, with Squealer a few rungs below him holding -the paint-pot. The Commandments were written on the tarred wall in great -white letters that could be read thirty yards away. They ran thus: - - -THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS - -1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. -2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. -3. No animal shall wear clothes. -4. No animal shall sleep in a bed. -5. No animal shall drink alcohol. -6. No animal shall kill any other animal. -7. All animals are equal. - - -It was very neatly written, and except that "friend" was written "freind" -and one of the "S's" was the wrong way round, the spelling was correct all -the way through. Snowball read it aloud for the benefit of the others. All -the animals nodded in complete agreement, and the cleverer ones at once -began to learn the Commandments by heart. - -"Now, comrades," cried Snowball, throwing down the paint-brush, "to the -hayfield! Let us make it a point of honour to get in the harvest more -quickly than Jones and his men could do." - -But at this moment the three cows, who had seemed uneasy for some time -past, set up a loud lowing. They had not been milked for twenty-four -hours, and their udders were almost bursting. After a little thought, the -pigs sent for buckets and milked the cows fairly successfully, their -trotters being well adapted to this task. Soon there were five buckets of -frothing creamy milk at which many of the animals looked with considerable -interest. - -"What is going to happen to all that milk?" said someone. - -"Jones used sometimes to mix some of it in our mash," said one of the hens. - -"Never mind the milk, comrades!" cried Napoleon, placing himself in front -of the buckets. "That will be attended to. The harvest is more important. -Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall follow in a few minutes. -Forward, comrades! The hay is waiting." - -So the animals trooped down to the hayfield to begin the harvest, and when -they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared. - - - - - Chapter III - - - -How they toiled and sweated to get the hay in! But their efforts were -rewarded, for the harvest was an even bigger success than they had hoped. - -Sometimes the work was hard; the implements had been designed for human -beings and not for animals, and it was a great drawback that no animal was -able to use any tool that involved standing on his hind legs. But the pigs -were so clever that they could think of a way round every difficulty. As -for the horses, they knew every inch of the field, and in fact understood -the business of mowing and raking far better than Jones and his men had -ever done. The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the -others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should -assume the leadership. Boxer and Clover would harness themselves to the -cutter or the horse-rake (no bits or reins were needed in these days, of -course) and tramp steadily round and round the field with a pig walking -behind and calling out "Gee up, comrade!" or "Whoa back, comrade!" as the -case might be. And every animal down to the humblest worked at turning the -hay and gathering it. Even the ducks and hens toiled to and fro all day in -the sun, carrying tiny wisps of hay in their beaks. In the end they -finished the harvest in two days' less time than it had usually taken -Jones and his men. Moreover, it was the biggest harvest that the farm had -ever seen. There was no wastage whatever; the hens and ducks with their -sharp eyes had gathered up the very last stalk. And not an animal on the -farm had stolen so much as a mouthful. - -All through that summer the work of the farm went like clockwork. The -animals were happy as they had never conceived it possible to be. Every -mouthful of food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was truly -their own food, produced by themselves and for themselves, not doled out -to them by a grudging master. With the worthless parasitical human beings -gone, there was more for everyone to eat. There was more leisure too, -inexperienced though the animals were. They met with many difficulties--for -instance, later in the year, when they harvested the corn, they had to -tread it out in the ancient style and blow away the chaff with their -breath, since the farm possessed no threshing machine--but the pigs with -their cleverness and Boxer with his tremendous muscles always pulled them -through. Boxer was the admiration of everybody. He had been a hard worker -even in Jones's time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one; -there were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his -mighty shoulders. From morning to night he was pushing and pulling, always -at the spot where the work was hardest. He had made an arrangement with -one of the cockerels to call him in the mornings half an hour earlier than -anyone else, and would put in some volunteer labour at whatever seemed to -be most needed, before the regular day's work began. His answer to every -problem, every setback, was "I will work harder!"--which he had adopted as -his personal motto. - -But everyone worked according to his capacity. The hens and ducks, for -instance, saved five bushels of corn at the harvest by gathering up the -stray grains. Nobody stole, nobody grumbled over his rations, the -quarrelling and biting and jealousy which had been normal features of life -in the old days had almost disappeared. Nobody shirked--or almost nobody. -Mollie, it was true, was not good at getting up in the mornings, and had a -way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a stone in her -hoof. And the behaviour of the cat was somewhat peculiar. It was soon -noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found. -She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear at meal-times, or in -the evening after work was over, as though nothing had happened. But she -always made such excellent excuses, and purred so affectionately, that it -was impossible not to believe in her good intentions. Old Benjamin, the -donkey, seemed quite unchanged since the Rebellion. He did his work in the -same slow obstinate way as he had done it in Jones's time, never shirking -and never volunteering for extra work either. About the Rebellion and its -results he would express no opinion. When asked whether he was not happier -now that Jones was gone, he would say only "Donkeys live a long time. None -of you has ever seen a dead donkey," and the others had to be content with -this cryptic answer. - -On Sundays there was no work. Breakfast was an hour later than usual, and -after breakfast there was a ceremony which was observed every week without -fail. First came the hoisting of the flag. Snowball had found in the -harness-room an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Jones's and had painted on it -a hoof and a horn in white. This was run up the flagstaff in the farmhouse -garden every Sunday morning. The flag was green, Snowball explained, to -represent the green fields of England, while the hoof and horn signified -the future Republic of the Animals which would arise when the human race -had been finally overthrown. After the hoisting of the flag all the -animals trooped into the big barn for a general assembly which was known -as the Meeting. Here the work of the coming week was planned out and -resolutions were put forward and debated. It was always the pigs who put -forward the resolutions. The other animals understood how to vote, but -could never think of any resolutions of their own. Snowball and Napoleon -were by far the most active in the debates. But it was noticed that these -two were never in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made, the -other could be counted on to oppose it. Even when it was resolved--a thing -no one could object to in itself--to set aside the small paddock behind -the orchard as a home of rest for animals who were past work, there was a -stormy debate over the correct retiring age for each class of animal. The -Meeting always ended with the singing of 'Beasts of England', and the -afternoon was given up to recreation. - -The pigs had set aside the harness-room as a headquarters for themselves. -Here, in the evenings, they studied blacksmithing, carpentering, and other -necessary arts from books which they had brought out of the farmhouse. -Snowball also busied himself with organising the other animals into what -he called Animal Committees. He was indefatigable at this. He formed the -Egg Production Committee for the hens, the Clean Tails League for the -cows, the Wild Comrades' Re-education Committee (the object of this was to -tame the rats and rabbits), the Whiter Wool Movement for the sheep, and -various others, besides instituting classes in reading and writing. On the -whole, these projects were a failure. The attempt to tame the wild -creatures, for instance, broke down almost immediately. They continued to -behave very much as before, and when treated with generosity, simply took -advantage of it. The cat joined the Re-education Committee and was very -active in it for some days. She was seen one day sitting on a roof and -talking to some sparrows who were just out of her reach. She was telling -them that all animals were now comrades and that any sparrow who chose -could come and perch on her paw; but the sparrows kept their distance. - -The reading and writing classes, however, were a great success. By the -autumn almost every animal on the farm was literate in some degree. - -As for the pigs, they could already read and write perfectly. The dogs -learned to read fairly well, but were not interested in reading anything -except the Seven Commandments. Muriel, the goat, could read somewhat -better than the dogs, and sometimes used to read to the others in the -evenings from scraps of newspaper which she found on the rubbish heap. -Benjamin could read as well as any pig, but never exercised his faculty. -So far as he knew, he said, there was nothing worth reading. Clover learnt -the whole alphabet, but could not put words together. Boxer could not get -beyond the letter D. He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his -great hoof, and then would stand staring at the letters with his ears -back, sometimes shaking his forelock, trying with all his might to -remember what came next and never succeeding. On several occasions, -indeed, he did learn E, F, G, H, but by the time he knew them, it was -always discovered that he had forgotten A, B, C, and D. Finally he decided -to be content with the first four letters, and used to write them out once -or twice every day to refresh his memory. Mollie refused to learn any but -the six letters which spelt her own name. She would form these very neatly -out of pieces of twig, and would then decorate them with a flower or two -and walk round them admiring them. - -None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A. -It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and -ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart. After much -thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be -reduced to a single maxim, namely: "Four legs good, two legs bad." This, -he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism. Whoever had -thoroughly grasped it would be safe from human influences. The birds at -first objected, since it seemed to them that they also had two legs, but -Snowball proved to them that this was not so. - -"A bird's wing, comrades," he said, "is an organ of propulsion and not of -manipulation. It should therefore be regarded as a leg. The distinguishing -mark of man is the HAND, the instrument with which he does all his -mischief." - -The birds did not understand Snowball's long words, but they accepted his -explanation, and all the humbler animals set to work to learn the new -maxim by heart. FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD, was inscribed on the end -wall of the barn, above the Seven Commandments and in bigger letters. When -they had once got it by heart, the sheep developed a great liking for this -maxim, and often as they lay in the field they would all start bleating -"Four legs good, two legs bad! Four legs good, two legs bad!" and keep it -up for hours on end, never growing tired of it. - -Napoleon took no interest in Snowball's committees. He said that the -education of the young was more important than anything that could be done -for those who were already grown up. It happened that Jessie and Bluebell -had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to -nine sturdy puppies. As soon as they were weaned, Napoleon took them away -from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for -their education. He took them up into a loft which could only be reached -by a ladder from the harness-room, and there kept them in such seclusion -that the rest of the farm soon forgot their existence. - -The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. It was mixed -every day into the pigs' mash. The early apples were now ripening, and the -grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. The animals had assumed -as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally; one day, -however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected -and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs. At this some of -the other animals murmured, but it was no use. All the pigs were in full -agreement on this point, even Snowball and Napoleon. Squealer was sent to -make the necessary explanations to the others. - -"Comrades!" he cried. "You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing -this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike -milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these -things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by -Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the -well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and -organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over -your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those -apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones -would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades," cried -Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his -tail, "surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?" - -Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it -was that they did not want Jones back. When it was put to them in this -light, they had no more to say. The importance of keeping the pigs in good -health was all too obvious. So it was agreed without further argument that -the milk and the windfall apples (and also the main crop of apples when -they ripened) should be reserved for the pigs alone. - - - - - Chapter IV - - - -By the late summer the news of what had happened on Animal Farm had spread -across half the county. Every day Snowball and Napoleon sent out flights -of pigeons whose instructions were to mingle with the animals on -neighbouring farms, tell them the story of the Rebellion, and teach them -the tune of 'Beasts of England'. - -Most of this time Mr. Jones had spent sitting in the taproom of the Red -Lion at Willingdon, complaining to anyone who would listen of the -monstrous injustice he had suffered in being turned out of his property by -a pack of good-for-nothing animals. The other farmers sympathised in -principle, but they did not at first give him much help. At heart, each of -them was secretly wondering whether he could not somehow turn Jones's -misfortune to his own advantage. It was lucky that the owners of the two -farms which adjoined Animal Farm were on permanently bad terms. One of -them, which was named Foxwood, was a large, neglected, old-fashioned farm, -much overgrown by woodland, with all its pastures worn out and its hedges -in a disgraceful condition. Its owner, Mr. Pilkington, was an easy-going -gentleman farmer who spent most of his time in fishing or hunting -according to the season. The other farm, which was called Pinchfield, was -smaller and better kept. Its owner was a Mr. Frederick, a tough, shrewd -man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a name for driving hard -bargains. These two disliked each other so much that it was difficult for -them to come to any agreement, even in defence of their own interests. - -Nevertheless, they were both thoroughly frightened by the rebellion on -Animal Farm, and very anxious to prevent their own animals from learning -too much about it. At first they pretended to laugh to scorn the idea of -animals managing a farm for themselves. The whole thing would be over in a -fortnight, they said. 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. When time passed and the animals had -evidently not starved to death, Frederick and Pilkington changed their -tune and began to talk of the terrible wickedness that now flourished on -Animal Farm. It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, -tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in -common. This was what came of rebelling against the laws of Nature, -Frederick and Pilkington said. - -However, these stories were never fully believed. Rumours of a wonderful -farm, where the human beings had been turned out and the animals managed -their own affairs, continued to circulate in vague and distorted forms, -and throughout that year a wave of rebelliousness ran through the -countryside. Bulls which had always been tractable suddenly turned savage, -sheep broke down hedges and devoured the clover, cows kicked the pail -over, hunters refused their fences and shot their riders on to the other -side. Above all, the tune and even the words of 'Beasts of England' were -known everywhere. It had spread with astonishing speed. The human beings -could not contain their rage when they heard this song, though they -pretended to think it merely ridiculous. They could not understand, they -said, how even animals could bring themselves to sing such contemptible -rubbish. Any animal caught singing it was given a flogging on the spot. -And yet the song was irrepressible. The blackbirds whistled it in the -hedges, the pigeons cooed it in the elms, it got into the din of the -smithies and the tune of the church bells. And when the human beings -listened to it, they secretly trembled, hearing in it a prophecy of their -future doom. - -Early in October, when the corn was cut and stacked and some of it was -already threshed, a flight of pigeons came whirling through the air and -alighted in the yard of Animal Farm in the wildest excitement. Jones and -all his men, with half a dozen others from Foxwood and Pinchfield, had -entered the five-barred gate and were coming up the cart-track that led to -the farm. They were all carrying sticks, except Jones, who was marching -ahead with a gun in his hands. Obviously they were going to attempt the -recapture of the farm. - -This had long been expected, and all preparations had been made. Snowball, -who had studied an old book of Julius Caesar's campaigns which he had -found in the farmhouse, was in charge of the defensive operations. He gave -his orders quickly, and in a couple of minutes every animal was at his -post. - -As the human beings approached the farm buildings, Snowball launched his -first attack. All the pigeons, to the number of thirty-five, flew to and -fro over the men's heads and muted upon them from mid-air; and while the -men were dealing with this, the geese, who had been hiding behind the -hedge, rushed out and pecked viciously at the calves of their legs. -However, this was only a light skirmishing manoeuvre, intended to create a -little disorder, and the men easily drove the geese off with their sticks. -Snowball now launched his second line of attack. Muriel, Benjamin, and all -the sheep, with Snowball at the head of them, rushed forward and prodded -and butted the men from every side, while Benjamin turned around and -lashed at them with his small hoofs. But once again the men, with their -sticks and their hobnailed boots, were too strong for them; and suddenly, -at a squeal from Snowball, which was the signal for retreat, all the -animals turned and fled through the gateway into the yard. - -The men gave a shout of triumph. They saw, as they imagined, their enemies -in flight, and they rushed after them in disorder. This was just what -Snowball had intended. As soon as they were well inside the yard, the -three horses, the three cows, and the rest of the pigs, who had been lying -in ambush in the cowshed, suddenly emerged in their rear, cutting them -off. Snowball now gave the signal for the charge. He himself dashed -straight for Jones. Jones saw him coming, raised his gun and fired. The -pellets scored bloody streaks along Snowball's back, and a sheep dropped -dead. Without halting for an instant, Snowball flung his fifteen stone -against Jones's legs. Jones was hurled into a pile of dung and his gun -flew out of his hands. But the most terrifying spectacle of all was Boxer, -rearing up on his hind legs and striking out with his great iron-shod -hoofs like a stallion. His very first blow took a stable-lad from Foxwood -on the skull and stretched him lifeless in the mud. At the sight, several -men dropped their sticks and tried to run. Panic overtook them, and the -next moment all the animals together were chasing them round and round the -yard. They were gored, kicked, bitten, trampled on. There was not an -animal on the farm that did not take vengeance on them after his own -fashion. Even the cat suddenly leapt off a roof onto a cowman's shoulders -and sank her claws in his neck, at which he yelled horribly. At a moment -when the opening was clear, the men were glad enough to rush out of the -yard and make a bolt for the main road. And so within five minutes of -their invasion they were in ignominious retreat by the same way as they -had come, with a flock of geese hissing after them and pecking at their -calves all the way. - -All the men were gone except one. Back in the yard Boxer was pawing with -his hoof at the stable-lad who lay face down in the mud, trying to turn -him over. The boy did not stir. - -"He is dead," said Boxer sorrowfully. "I had no intention of doing that. -I forgot that I was wearing iron shoes. Who will believe that I did not do -this on purpose?" - -"No sentimentality, comrade!" cried Snowball from whose wounds the blood -was still dripping. "War is war. The only good human being is a dead one." - -"I have no wish to take life, not even human life," repeated Boxer, and -his eyes were full of tears. - -"Where is Mollie?" exclaimed somebody. - -Mollie in fact was missing. For a moment there was great alarm; it was -feared that the men might have harmed her in some way, or even carried her -off with them. In the end, however, she was found hiding in her stall with -her head buried among the hay in the manger. She had taken to flight as -soon as the gun went off. And when the others came back from looking for -her, it was to find that the stable-lad, who in fact was only stunned, had -already recovered and made off. - -The animals had now reassembled in the wildest excitement, each recounting -his own exploits in the battle at the top of his voice. An impromptu -celebration of the victory was held immediately. The flag was run up and -'Beasts of England' was sung a number of times, then the sheep who had been -killed was given a solemn funeral, a hawthorn bush being planted on her -grave. At the graveside Snowball made a little speech, emphasising the -need for all animals to be ready to die for Animal Farm if need be. - -The animals decided unanimously to create a military decoration, "Animal -Hero, First Class," which was conferred there and then on Snowball and -Boxer. It consisted of a brass medal (they were really some old -horse-brasses which had been found in the harness-room), to be worn on -Sundays and holidays. There was also "Animal Hero, Second Class," which -was conferred posthumously on the dead sheep. - -There was much discussion as to what the battle should be called. In the -end, it was named the Battle of the Cowshed, since that was where the -ambush had been sprung. Mr. Jones's gun had been found lying in the mud, -and it was known that there was a supply of cartridges in the farmhouse. -It was decided to set the gun up at the foot of the Flagstaff, like a -piece of artillery, and to fire it twice a year--once on October the -twelfth, the anniversary of the Battle of the Cowshed, and once on -Midsummer Day, the anniversary of the Rebellion. - - - - - Chapter V - - - -As winter drew on, Mollie became more and more troublesome. She was late -for work every morning and excused herself by saying that she had -overslept, and she complained of mysterious pains, although her appetite -was excellent. On every kind of pretext she would run away from work and -go to the drinking pool, where she would stand foolishly gazing at her own -reflection in the water. But there were also rumours of something more -serious. One day, as Mollie strolled blithely into the yard, flirting her -long tail and chewing at a stalk of hay, Clover took her aside. - -"Mollie," she said, "I have something very serious to say to you. This -morning I saw you looking over the hedge that divides Animal Farm from -Foxwood. One of Mr. Pilkington's men was standing on the other side of the -hedge. And--I was a long way away, but I am almost certain I saw this--he -was talking to you and you were allowing him to stroke your nose. What -does that mean, Mollie?" - -"He didn't! I wasn't! It isn't true!" cried Mollie, beginning to prance -about and paw the ground. - -"Mollie! Look me in the face. Do you give me your word of honour that that -man was not stroking your nose?" - -"It isn't true!" repeated Mollie, but she could not look Clover in the -face, and the next moment she took to her heels and galloped away into the -field. - -A thought struck Clover. Without saying anything to the others, she went -to Mollie's stall and turned over the straw with her hoof. Hidden under -the straw was a little pile of lump sugar and several bunches of ribbon of -different colours. - -Three days later Mollie disappeared. For some weeks nothing was known of -her whereabouts, then the pigeons reported that they had seen her on the -other side of Willingdon. She was between the shafts of a smart dogcart -painted red and black, which was standing outside a public-house. A fat -red-faced man in check breeches and gaiters, who looked like a publican, -was stroking her nose and feeding her with sugar. Her coat was newly -clipped and she wore a scarlet ribbon round her forelock. She appeared to -be enjoying herself, so the pigeons said. None of the animals ever -mentioned Mollie again. - -In January there came bitterly hard weather. The earth was like iron, and -nothing could be done in the fields. Many meetings were held in the big -barn, and the pigs occupied themselves with planning out the work of the -coming season. It had come to be accepted that the pigs, who were -manifestly cleverer than the other animals, should decide all questions of -farm policy, though their decisions had to be ratified by a majority vote. -This arrangement would have worked well enough if it had not been for the -disputes between Snowball and Napoleon. These two disagreed at every point -where disagreement was possible. If one of them suggested sowing a bigger -acreage with barley, the other was certain to demand a bigger acreage of -oats, and if one of them said that such and such a field was just right -for cabbages, the other would declare that it was useless for anything -except roots. Each had his own following, and there were some violent -debates. At the Meetings Snowball often won over the majority by his -brilliant speeches, but Napoleon was better at canvassing support for -himself in between times. He was especially successful with the sheep. Of -late the sheep had taken to bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad" both -in and out of season, and they often interrupted the Meeting with this. It -was noticed that they were especially liable to break into "Four legs -good, two legs bad" at crucial moments in Snowball's speeches. Snowball -had made a close study of some back numbers of the 'Farmer and -Stockbreeder' which he had found in the farmhouse, and was full of plans -for innovations and improvements. He talked learnedly about field drains, -silage, and basic slag, and had worked out a complicated scheme for all -the animals to drop their dung directly in the fields, at a different spot -every day, to save the labour of cartage. Napoleon produced no schemes of -his own, but said quietly that Snowball's would come to nothing, and -seemed to be biding his time. But of all their controversies, none was so -bitter as the one that took place over the windmill. - -In the long pasture, not far from the farm buildings, there was a small -knoll which was the highest point on the farm. After surveying the ground, -Snowball declared that this was just the place for a windmill, which could -be made to operate a dynamo and supply the farm with electrical power. -This would light the stalls and warm them in winter, and would also run a -circular saw, a chaff-cutter, a mangel-slicer, and an electric milking -machine. The animals had never heard of anything of this kind before -(for the farm was an old-fashioned one and had only the most primitive -machinery), and they listened in astonishment while Snowball conjured up -pictures of fantastic machines which would do their work for them while -they grazed at their ease in the fields or improved their minds with -reading and conversation. - -Within a few weeks Snowball's plans for the windmill were fully worked -out. The mechanical details came mostly from three books which had -belonged to Mr. Jones--'One Thousand Useful Things to Do About the House', -'Every Man His Own Bricklayer', and 'Electricity for Beginners'. Snowball -used as his study a shed which had once been used for incubators and had a -smooth wooden floor, suitable for drawing on. He was closeted there for -hours at a time. With his books held open by a stone, and with a piece of -chalk gripped between the knuckles of his trotter, he would move rapidly -to and fro, drawing in line after line and uttering little whimpers of -excitement. Gradually the plans grew into a complicated mass of cranks and -cog-wheels, covering more than half the floor, which the other animals -found completely unintelligible but very impressive. All of them came to -look at Snowball's drawings at least once a day. Even the hens and ducks -came, and were at pains not to tread on the chalk marks. Only Napoleon -held aloof. He had declared himself against the windmill from the start. -One day, however, he arrived unexpectedly to examine the plans. He walked -heavily round the shed, looked closely at every detail of the plans and -snuffed at them once or twice, then stood for a little while contemplating -them out of the corner of his eye; then suddenly he lifted his leg, -urinated over the plans, and walked out without uttering a word. - -The whole farm was deeply divided on the subject of the windmill. Snowball -did not deny that to build it would be a difficult business. Stone would -have to be carried and built up into walls, then the sails would have to -be made and after that there would be need for dynamos and cables. (How -these were to be procured, Snowball did not say.) But he maintained that -it could all be done in a year. And thereafter, he declared, so much -labour would be saved that the animals would only need to work three days -a week. Napoleon, on the other hand, argued that the great need of the -moment was to increase food production, and that if they wasted time on -the windmill they would all starve to death. The animals formed themselves -into two factions under the slogan, "Vote for Snowball and the three-day -week" and "Vote for Napoleon and the full manger." Benjamin was the only -animal who did not side with either faction. He refused to believe either -that food would become more plentiful or that the windmill would save -work. Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always -gone on--that is, badly. - -Apart from the disputes over the windmill, there was the question of the -defence of the farm. It was fully realised that though the human beings -had been defeated in the Battle of the Cowshed they might make another and -more determined attempt to recapture the farm and reinstate Mr. Jones. -They had all the more reason for doing so because the news of their defeat -had spread across the countryside and made the animals on the neighbouring -farms more restive than ever. As usual, Snowball and Napoleon were in -disagreement. According to Napoleon, what the animals must do was to -procure firearms and train themselves in the use of them. According to -Snowball, they must send out more and more pigeons and stir up rebellion -among the animals on the other farms. The one argued that if they could -not defend themselves they were bound to be conquered, the other argued -that if rebellions happened everywhere they would have no need to defend -themselves. The animals listened first to Napoleon, then to Snowball, and -could not make up their minds which was right; indeed, they always found -themselves in agreement with the one who was speaking at the moment. - -At last the day came when Snowball's plans were completed. At the Meeting -on the following Sunday the question of whether or not to begin work on -the windmill was to be put to the vote. When the animals had assembled in -the big barn, Snowball stood up and, though occasionally interrupted by -bleating from the sheep, set forth his reasons for advocating the building -of the windmill. Then Napoleon stood up to reply. He said very quietly -that the windmill was nonsense and that he advised nobody to vote for it, -and promptly sat down again; he had spoken for barely thirty seconds, and -seemed almost indifferent as to the effect he produced. At this Snowball -sprang to his feet, and shouting down the sheep, who had begun bleating -again, broke into a passionate appeal in favour of the windmill. Until now -the animals had been about equally divided in their sympathies, but in a -moment Snowball's eloquence had carried them away. In glowing sentences he -painted a picture of Animal Farm as it might be when sordid labour was -lifted from the animals' backs. His imagination had now run far beyond -chaff-cutters and turnip-slicers. Electricity, he said, could operate -threshing machines, ploughs, harrows, rollers, and reapers and binders, -besides supplying every stall with its own electric light, hot and cold -water, and an electric heater. By the time he had finished speaking, there -was no doubt as to which way the vote would go. But just at this moment -Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, -uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter -before. - -At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs -wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed -straight for Snowball, who only sprang from his place just in time to -escape their snapping jaws. In a moment he was out of the door and they -were after him. Too amazed and frightened to speak, all the animals -crowded through the door to watch the chase. Snowball was racing across -the long pasture that led to the road. He was running as only a pig can -run, but the dogs were close on his heels. Suddenly he slipped and it -seemed certain that they had him. Then he was up again, running faster -than ever, then the dogs were gaining on him again. One of them all but -closed his jaws on Snowball's tail, but Snowball whisked it free just in -time. Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, -slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more. - -Silent and terrified, the animals crept back into the barn. In a moment -the dogs came bounding back. At first no one had been able to imagine -where these creatures came from, but the problem was soon solved: they -were the puppies whom Napoleon had taken away from their mothers and -reared privately. Though not yet full-grown, they were huge dogs, and as -fierce-looking as wolves. They kept close to Napoleon. It was noticed that -they wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had been -used to do to Mr. Jones. - -Napoleon, with the dogs following him, now mounted on to the raised -portion of the floor where Major had previously stood to deliver his -speech. He announced that from now on the Sunday-morning Meetings would -come to an end. They were unnecessary, he said, and wasted time. In future -all questions relating to the working of the farm would be settled by a -special committee of pigs, presided over by himself. These would meet in -private and afterwards communicate their decisions to the others. The -animals would still assemble on Sunday mornings to salute the flag, sing -'Beasts of England', and receive their orders for the week; but there would -be no more debates. - -In spite of the shock that Snowball's expulsion had given them, the -animals were dismayed by this announcement. Several of them would have -protested if they could have found the right arguments. Even Boxer was -vaguely troubled. He set his ears back, shook his forelock several times, -and tried hard to marshal his thoughts; but in the end he could not think -of anything to say. Some of the pigs themselves, however, were more -articulate. Four young porkers in the front row uttered shrill squeals of -disapproval, and all four of them sprang to their feet and began speaking -at once. But suddenly the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, -menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again. Then the -sheep broke out into a tremendous bleating of "Four legs good, two legs -bad!" which went on for nearly a quarter of an hour and put an end to any -chance of discussion. - -Afterwards Squealer was sent round the farm to explain the new arrangement -to the others. - -"Comrades," he said, "I trust that every animal here appreciates the -sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon -himself. Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure! On the -contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more -firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only -too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you -might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be? -Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball, with his moonshine of -windmills--Snowball, who, as we now know, was no better than a criminal?" - -"He fought bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed," said somebody. - -"Bravery is not enough," said Squealer. "Loyalty and obedience are more -important. And as to the Battle of the Cowshed, I believe the time will -come when we shall find that Snowball's part in it was much exaggerated. -Discipline, comrades, iron discipline! That is the watchword for today. -One false step, and our enemies would be upon us. Surely, comrades, you do -not want Jones back?" - -Once again this argument was unanswerable. Certainly the animals did not -want Jones back; if the holding of debates on Sunday mornings was liable -to bring him back, then the debates must stop. Boxer, who had now had time -to think things over, voiced the general feeling by saying: "If Comrade -Napoleon says it, it must be right." And from then on he adopted the -maxim, "Napoleon is always right," in addition to his private motto of "I -will work harder." - -By this time the weather had broken and the spring ploughing had begun. -The shed where Snowball had drawn his plans of the windmill had been shut -up and it was assumed that the plans had been rubbed off the floor. Every -Sunday morning at ten o'clock the animals assembled in the big barn to -receive their orders for the week. The skull of old Major, now clean of -flesh, had been disinterred from the orchard and set up on a stump at the -foot of the flagstaff, beside the gun. After the hoisting of the flag, the -animals were required to file past the skull in a reverent manner before -entering the barn. Nowadays they did not sit all together as they had done -in the past. Napoleon, with Squealer and another pig named Minimus, who -had a remarkable gift for composing songs and poems, sat on the front of -the raised platform, with the nine young dogs forming a semicircle round -them, and the other pigs sitting behind. The rest of the animals sat -facing them in the main body of the barn. Napoleon read out the orders for -the week in a gruff soldierly style, and after a single singing of 'Beasts -of England', all the animals dispersed. - -On the third Sunday after Snowball's expulsion, the animals were somewhat -surprised to hear Napoleon announce that the windmill was to be built -after all. He did not give any reason for having changed his mind, but -merely warned the animals that this extra task would mean very hard work, -it might even be necessary to reduce their rations. The plans, however, -had all been prepared, down to the last detail. A special committee of -pigs had been at work upon them for the past three weeks. The building of -the windmill, with various other improvements, was expected to take two -years. - -That evening Squealer explained privately to the other animals that -Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill. On the -contrary, it was he who had advocated it in the beginning, and the plan -which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually -been stolen from among Napoleon's papers. The windmill was, in fact, -Napoleon's own creation. Why, then, asked somebody, had he spoken so -strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly. That, he said, was -Comrade Napoleon's cunning. He had SEEMED to oppose the windmill, simply -as a manoeuvre to get rid of Snowball, who was a dangerous character and a -bad influence. Now that Snowball was out of the way, the plan could go -forward without his interference. This, said Squealer, was something -called tactics. He repeated a number of times, "Tactics, comrades, -tactics!" skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh. The -animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so -persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so -threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further -questions. - - - - - Chapter VI - - - -All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their -work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that -they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who -would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings. - -Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week, and in -August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons -as well. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented -himself from it would have his rations reduced by half. Even so, it was -found necessary to leave certain tasks undone. The harvest was a little -less successful than in the previous year, and two fields which should -have been sown with roots in the early summer were not sown because the -ploughing had not been completed early enough. It was possible to foresee -that the coming winter would be a hard one. - -The windmill presented unexpected difficulties. There was a good quarry of -limestone on the farm, and plenty of sand and cement had been found in one -of the outhouses, so that all the materials for building were at hand. But -the problem the animals could not at first solve was how to break up the -stone into pieces of suitable size. There seemed no way of doing this -except with picks and crowbars, which no animal could use, because no -animal could stand on his hind legs. Only after weeks of vain effort did -the right idea occur to somebody-namely, to utilise the force of gravity. -Huge boulders, far too big to be used as they were, were lying all over -the bed of the quarry. The animals lashed ropes round these, and then all -together, cows, horses, sheep, any animal that could lay hold of the -rope--even the pigs sometimes joined in at critical moments--they dragged -them with desperate slowness up the slope to the top of the quarry, where -they were toppled over the edge, to shatter to pieces below. Transporting -the stone when it was once broken was comparatively simple. The horses -carried it off in cart-loads, the sheep dragged single blocks, even Muriel -and Benjamin yoked themselves into an old governess-cart and did their -share. By late summer a sufficient store of stone had accumulated, and -then the building began, under the superintendence of the pigs. - -But it was a slow, laborious process. Frequently it took a whole day of -exhausting effort to drag a single boulder to the top of the quarry, and -sometimes when it was pushed over the edge it failed to break. Nothing -could have been achieved without Boxer, whose strength seemed equal to -that of all the rest of the animals put together. When the boulder began -to slip and the animals cried out in despair at finding themselves dragged -down the hill, it was always Boxer who strained himself against the rope -and brought the boulder to a stop. To see him toiling up the slope inch by -inch, his breath coming fast, the tips of his hoofs clawing at the ground, -and his great sides matted with sweat, filled everyone with admiration. -Clover warned him sometimes to be careful not to overstrain himself, but -Boxer would never listen to her. His two slogans, "I will work harder" -and "Napoleon is always right," seemed to him a sufficient answer to all -problems. He had made arrangements with the cockerel to call him -three-quarters of an hour earlier in the mornings instead of half an hour. -And in his spare moments, of which there were not many nowadays, he would -go alone to the quarry, collect a load of broken stone, and drag it down -to the site of the windmill unassisted. - -The animals were not badly off throughout that summer, in spite of the -hardness of their work. If they had no more food than they had had in -Jones's day, at least they did not have less. The advantage of only having -to feed themselves, and not having to support five extravagant human -beings as well, was so great that it would have taken a lot of failures to -outweigh it. And in many ways the animal method of doing things was more -efficient and saved labour. Such jobs as weeding, for instance, could be -done with a thoroughness impossible to human beings. And again, since no -animal now stole, it was unnecessary to fence off pasture from arable -land, which saved a lot of labour on the upkeep of hedges and gates. -Nevertheless, as the summer wore on, various unforeseen shortages began to -make them selves felt. There was need of paraffin oil, nails, string, dog -biscuits, and iron for the horses' shoes, none of which could be produced -on the farm. Later there would also be need for seeds and artificial -manures, besides various tools and, finally, the machinery for the -windmill. How these were to be procured, no one was able to imagine. - -One Sunday morning, when the animals assembled to receive their orders, -Napoleon announced that he had decided upon a new policy. From now onwards -Animal Farm would engage in trade with the neighbouring farms: not, of -course, for any commercial purpose, but simply in order to obtain certain -materials which were urgently necessary. The needs of the windmill must -override everything else, he said. He was therefore making arrangements to -sell a stack of hay and part of the current year's wheat crop, and later -on, if more money were needed, it would have to be made up by the sale of -eggs, for which there was always a market in Willingdon. The hens, said -Napoleon, should welcome this sacrifice as their own special contribution -towards the building of the windmill. - -Once again the animals were conscious of a vague uneasiness. Never to have -any dealings with human beings, never to engage in trade, never to make -use of money--had not these been among the earliest resolutions passed at -that first triumphant Meeting after Jones was expelled? All the animals -remembered passing such resolutions: or at least they thought that they -remembered it. The four young pigs who had protested when Napoleon -abolished the Meetings raised their voices timidly, but they were promptly -silenced by a tremendous growling from the dogs. Then, as usual, the sheep -broke into "Four legs good, two legs bad!" and the momentary awkwardness -was smoothed over. Finally Napoleon raised his trotter for silence and -announced that he had already made all the arrangements. There would be no -need for any of the animals to come in contact with human beings, which -would clearly be most undesirable. He intended to take the whole burden -upon his own shoulders. A Mr. Whymper, a solicitor living in Willingdon, -had agreed to act as intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside -world, and would visit the farm every Monday morning to receive his -instructions. Napoleon ended his speech with his usual cry of "Long live -Animal Farm!" and after the singing of 'Beasts of England' the animals -were dismissed. - -Afterwards Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals' minds at -rest. He assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and -using money had never been passed, or even suggested. It was pure -imagination, probably traceable in the beginning to lies circulated by -Snowball. A few animals still felt faintly doubtful, but Squealer asked -them shrewdly, "Are you certain that this is not something that you have -dreamed, comrades? Have you any record of such a resolution? Is it written -down anywhere?" And since it was certainly true that nothing of the kind -existed in writing, the animals were satisfied that they had been mistaken. - -Every Monday Mr. Whymper visited the farm as had been arranged. He was a -sly-looking little man with side whiskers, a solicitor in a very small way -of business, but sharp enough to have realised earlier than anyone else -that Animal Farm would need a broker and that the commissions would be -worth having. The animals watched his coming and going with a kind of -dread, and avoided him as much as possible. Nevertheless, the sight of -Napoleon, on all fours, delivering orders to Whymper, who stood on two -legs, roused their pride and partly reconciled them to the new -arrangement. Their relations with the human race were now not quite the -same as they had been before. The human beings did not hate Animal Farm -any less now that it was prospering; indeed, they hated it more than ever. -Every human being held it as an article of faith that the farm would go -bankrupt sooner or later, and, above all, that the windmill would be a -failure. They would meet in the public-houses and prove to one another by -means of diagrams that the windmill was bound to fall down, or that if it -did stand up, then that it would never work. And yet, against their will, -they had developed a certain respect for the efficiency with which the -animals were managing their own affairs. One symptom of this was that they -had begun to call Animal Farm by its proper name and ceased to pretend -that it was called the Manor Farm. They had also dropped their championship -of Jones, who had given up hope of getting his farm back and gone to live -in another part of the county. Except through Whymper, there was as yet no -contact between Animal Farm and the outside world, but there were constant -rumours that Napoleon was about to enter into a definite business agreement -either with Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood or with Mr. Frederick of -Pinchfield--but never, it was noticed, with both simultaneously. - -It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and -took up their residence there. Again the animals seemed to remember that a -resolution against this had been passed in the early days, and again -Squealer was able to convince them that this was not the case. It was -absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the -farm, should have a quiet place to work in. It was also more suited to the -dignity of the Leader (for of late he had taken to speaking of Napoleon -under the title of "Leader") to live in a house than in a mere sty. -Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they heard that the -pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing-room -as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds. Boxer passed it off as -usual with "Napoleon is always right!", but Clover, who thought she -remembered a definite ruling against beds, went to the end of the barn and -tried to puzzle out the Seven Commandments which were inscribed there. -Finding herself unable to read more than individual letters, she fetched -Muriel. - -"Muriel," she said, "read me the Fourth Commandment. Does it not say -something about never sleeping in a bed?" - -With some difficulty Muriel spelt it out. - -"It says, 'No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets,"' she announced -finally. - -Curiously enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment -mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so. -And Squealer, who happened to be passing at this moment, attended by two -or three dogs, was able to put the whole matter in its proper perspective. - -"You have heard then, comrades," he said, "that we pigs now sleep in the -beds of the farmhouse? And why not? You did not suppose, surely, that -there was ever a ruling against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep -in. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed, properly regarded. The rule was -against sheets, which are a human invention. We have removed the sheets -from the farmhouse beds, and sleep between blankets. And very comfortable -beds they are too! But not more comfortable than we need, I can tell you, -comrades, with all the brainwork we have to do nowadays. You would not rob -us of our repose, would you, comrades? You would not have us too tired to -carry out our duties? Surely none of you wishes to see Jones back?" - -The animals reassured him on this point immediately, and no more was said -about the pigs sleeping in the farmhouse beds. And when, some days -afterwards, it was announced that from now on the pigs would get up an -hour later in the mornings than the other animals, no complaint was made -about that either. - -By the autumn the animals were tired but happy. They had had a hard year, -and after the sale of part of the hay and corn, the stores of food for the -winter were none too plentiful, but the windmill compensated for -everything. It was almost half built now. After the harvest there was a -stretch of clear dry weather, and the animals toiled harder than ever, -thinking it well worth while to plod to and fro all day with blocks of -stone if by doing so they could raise the walls another foot. Boxer would -even come out at nights and work for an hour or two on his own by the -light of the harvest moon. In their spare moments the animals would walk -round and round the half-finished mill, admiring the strength and -perpendicularity of its walls and marvelling that they should ever have -been able to build anything so imposing. Only old Benjamin refused to grow -enthusiastic about the windmill, though, as usual, he would utter nothing -beyond the cryptic remark that donkeys live a long time. - -November came, with raging south-west winds. Building had to stop because -it was now too wet to mix the cement. Finally there came a night when the -gale was so violent that the farm buildings rocked on their foundations -and several tiles were blown off the roof of the barn. The hens woke up -squawking with terror because they had all dreamed simultaneously of -hearing a gun go off in the distance. In the morning the animals came out -of their stalls to find that the flagstaff had been blown down and an elm -tree at the foot of the orchard had been plucked up like a radish. They -had just noticed this when a cry of despair broke from every animal's -throat. A terrible sight had met their eyes. The windmill was in ruins. - -With one accord they dashed down to the spot. Napoleon, who seldom moved -out of a walk, raced ahead of them all. Yes, there it lay, the fruit of -all their struggles, levelled to its foundations, the stones they had -broken and carried so laboriously scattered all around. Unable at first to -speak, they stood gazing mournfully at the litter of fallen stone. Napoleon -paced to and fro in silence, occasionally snuffing at the ground. His tail -had grown rigid and twitched sharply from side to side, a sign in him of -intense mental activity. Suddenly he halted as though his mind were -made up. - -"Comrades," he said quietly, "do you know who is responsible for this? Do -you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? -SNOWBALL!" he suddenly roared in a voice of thunder. "Snowball has done -this thing! In sheer malignity, thinking to set back our plans and avenge -himself for his ignominious expulsion, this traitor has crept here under -cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year. Comrades, here -and now I pronounce the death sentence upon Snowball. 'Animal Hero, Second -Class,' and half a bushel of apples to any animal who brings him to -justice. A full bushel to anyone who captures him alive!" - -The animals were shocked beyond measure to learn that even Snowball could -be guilty of such an action. There was a cry of indignation, and everyone -began thinking out ways of catching Snowball if he should ever come back. -Almost immediately the footprints of a pig were discovered in the grass at -a little distance from the knoll. They could only be traced for a few -yards, but appeared to lead to a hole in the hedge. Napoleon snuffed -deeply at them and pronounced them to be Snowball's. He gave it as his -opinion that Snowball had probably come from the direction of Foxwood Farm. - -"No more delays, comrades!" cried Napoleon when the footprints had been -examined. "There is work to be done. This very morning we begin rebuilding -the windmill, and we will build all through the winter, rain or shine. We -will teach this miserable traitor that he cannot undo our work so easily. -Remember, comrades, there must be no alteration in our plans: they shall -be carried out to the day. Forward, comrades! Long live the windmill! Long -live Animal Farm!" - - - - - Chapter VII - - - -It was a bitter winter. The stormy weather was followed by sleet and snow, -and then by a hard frost which did not break till well into February. The -animals carried on as best they could with the rebuilding of the windmill, -well knowing that the outside world was watching them and that the envious -human beings would rejoice and triumph if the mill were not finished -on time. - -Out of spite, the human beings pretended not to believe that it was -Snowball who had destroyed the windmill: they said that it had fallen down -because the walls were too thin. The animals knew that this was not the -case. Still, it had been decided to build the walls three feet thick this -time instead of eighteen inches as before, which meant collecting much -larger quantities of stone. For a long time the quarry was full of -snowdrifts and nothing could be done. Some progress was made in the dry -frosty weather that followed, but it was cruel work, and the animals could -not feel so hopeful about it as they had felt before. They were always -cold, and usually hungry as well. Only Boxer and Clover never lost heart. -Squealer made excellent speeches on the joy of service and the dignity of -labour, but the other animals found more inspiration in Boxer's strength -and his never-failing cry of "I will work harder!" - -In January food fell short. The corn ration was drastically reduced, and -it was announced that an extra potato ration would be issued to make up -for it. Then it was discovered that the greater part of the potato crop -had been frosted in the clamps, which had not been covered thickly enough. -The potatoes had become soft and discoloured, and only a few were edible. -For days at a time the animals had nothing to eat but chaff and mangels. -Starvation seemed to stare them in the face. - -It was vitally necessary to conceal this fact from the outside world. -Emboldened by the collapse of the windmill, the human beings were -inventing fresh lies about Animal Farm. Once again it was being put about -that all the animals were dying of famine and disease, and that they were -continually fighting among themselves and had resorted to cannibalism and -infanticide. Napoleon was well aware of the bad results that might follow -if the real facts of the food situation were known, and he decided to make -use of Mr. Whymper to spread a contrary impression. Hitherto the animals -had had little or no contact with Whymper on his weekly visits: now, -however, a few selected animals, mostly sheep, were instructed to remark -casually in his hearing that rations had been increased. In addition, -Napoleon ordered the almost empty bins in the store-shed to be filled -nearly to the brim with sand, which was then covered up with what remained -of the grain and meal. On some suitable pretext Whymper was led through -the store-shed and allowed to catch a glimpse of the bins. He was -deceived, and continued to report to the outside world that there was no -food shortage on Animal Farm. - -Nevertheless, towards the end of January it became obvious that it would -be necessary to procure some more grain from somewhere. In these days -Napoleon rarely appeared in public, but spent all his time in the -farmhouse, which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs. When he -did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an escort of six dogs who -closely surrounded him and growled if anyone came too near. Frequently he -did not even appear on Sunday mornings, but issued his orders through one -of the other pigs, usually Squealer. - -One Sunday morning Squealer announced that the hens, who had just come in -to lay again, must surrender their eggs. Napoleon had accepted, through -Whymper, a contract for four hundred eggs a week. The price of these would -pay for enough grain and meal to keep the farm going till summer came on -and conditions were easier. - -When the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry. They had been -warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not -believed that it would really happen. They were just getting their -clutches ready for the spring sitting, and they protested that to take the -eggs away now was murder. For the first time since the expulsion of Jones, -there was something resembling a rebellion. Led by three young Black -Minorca pullets, the hens made a determined effort to thwart Napoleon's -wishes. Their method was to fly up to the rafters and there lay their -eggs, which smashed to pieces on the floor. Napoleon acted swiftly and -ruthlessly. He ordered the hens' rations to be stopped, and decreed that -any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished -by death. The dogs saw to it that these orders were carried out. For five -days the hens held out, then they capitulated and went back to their -nesting boxes. Nine hens had died in the meantime. Their bodies were -buried in the orchard, and it was given out that they had died of -coccidiosis. Whymper heard nothing of this affair, and the eggs were duly -delivered, a grocer's van driving up to the farm once a week to take them -away. - -All this while no more had been seen of Snowball. He was rumoured to be -hiding on one of the neighbouring farms, either Foxwood or Pinchfield. -Napoleon was by this time on slightly better terms with the other farmers -than before. 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. -It was well seasoned, and Whymper had advised Napoleon to sell it; both -Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick were anxious to buy it. Napoleon was -hesitating between the two, unable to make up his mind. It was noticed -that whenever he seemed on the point of coming to an agreement with -Frederick, Snowball was declared to be in hiding at Foxwood, while, when -he inclined toward Pilkington, Snowball was said to be at Pinchfield. - -Suddenly, early in the spring, an alarming thing was discovered. Snowball -was secretly frequenting the farm by night! The animals were so disturbed -that they could hardly sleep in their stalls. Every night, it was said, he -came creeping in under cover of darkness and performed all kinds of -mischief. He stole the corn, he upset the milk-pails, he broke the eggs, -he trampled the seedbeds, he gnawed the bark off the fruit trees. Whenever -anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball. If a -window was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say -that Snowball had come in the night and done it, and when the key of the -store-shed was lost, the whole farm was convinced that Snowball had thrown -it down the well. Curiously enough, they went on believing this even after -the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal. The cows declared -unanimously that Snowball crept into their stalls and milked them in their -sleep. The rats, which had been troublesome that winter, were also said to -be in league with Snowball. - -Napoleon decreed that there should be a full investigation into Snowball's -activities. With his dogs in attendance he set out and made a careful tour -of inspection of the farm buildings, the other animals following at a -respectful distance. At every few steps Napoleon stopped and snuffed the -ground for traces of Snowball's footsteps, which, he said, he could detect -by the smell. He snuffed in every corner, in the barn, in the cow-shed, -in the henhouses, in the vegetable garden, and found traces of Snowball -almost everywhere. He would put his snout to the ground, give several deep -sniffs, ad exclaim in a terrible voice, "Snowball! He has been here! I can -smell him distinctly!" and at the word "Snowball" all the dogs let out -blood-curdling growls and showed their side teeth. - -The animals were thoroughly frightened. It seemed to them as though -Snowball were some kind of invisible influence, pervading the air about -them and menacing them with all kinds of dangers. In the evening Squealer -called them together, and with an alarmed expression on his face told -them that he had some serious news to report. - -"Comrades!" cried Squealer, making little nervous skips, "a most terrible -thing has been discovered. Snowball has sold himself to Frederick of -Pinchfield Farm, 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. But -there is worse than that. We had thought that Snowball's rebellion was -caused simply by his vanity and ambition. But we were wrong, comrades. Do -you know what the real reason was? Snowball was in league with Jones from -the very start! He was Jones's secret agent all the time. It has all been -proved by documents which he left behind him and which we have only just -discovered. To my mind this explains a great deal, comrades. Did we not -see for ourselves how he attempted--fortunately without success--to get us -defeated and destroyed at the Battle of the Cowshed?" - -The animals were stupefied. This was a wickedness far outdoing Snowball's -destruction of the windmill. But it was some minutes before they could -fully take it in. They all remembered, or thought they remembered, how -they had seen Snowball charging ahead of them at the Battle of the -Cowshed, how he had rallied and encouraged them at every turn, and how he -had not paused for an instant even when the pellets from Jones's gun had -wounded his back. At first it was a little difficult to see how this -fitted in with his being on Jones's side. Even Boxer, who seldom asked -questions, was puzzled. He lay down, tucked his fore hoofs beneath him, -shut his eyes, and with a hard effort managed to formulate his thoughts. - -"I do not believe that," he said. "Snowball fought bravely at the Battle -of the Cowshed. I saw him myself. Did we not give him 'Animal Hero, first -Class,' immediately afterwards?" - -"That was our mistake, comrade. For we know now--it is all written down in -the secret documents that we have found--that in reality he was trying to -lure us to our doom." - -"But he was wounded," said Boxer. "We all saw him running with blood." - -"That was part of the arrangement!" cried Squealer. "Jones's shot only -grazed him. I could show you this in his own writing, if you were able to -read it. The plot was for Snowball, at the critical moment, to give the -signal for flight and leave the field to the enemy. And he very nearly -succeeded--I will even say, comrades, he WOULD have succeeded if it had -not been for our heroic Leader, Comrade Napoleon. Do you not remember how, -just at the moment when Jones and his men had got inside the yard, -Snowball suddenly turned and fled, and many animals followed him? And do -you not remember, too, that it was just at that moment, when panic was -spreading and all seemed lost, that Comrade Napoleon sprang forward with a -cry of 'Death to Humanity!' and sank his teeth in Jones's leg? Surely you -remember THAT, comrades?" exclaimed Squealer, frisking from side to side. - -Now when Squealer described the scene so graphically, it seemed to the -animals that they did remember it. At any rate, they remembered that at -the critical moment of the battle Snowball had turned to flee. But Boxer -was still a little uneasy. - -"I do not believe that Snowball was a traitor at the beginning," he said -finally. "What he has done since is different. But I believe that at the -Battle of the Cowshed he was a good comrade." - -"Our Leader, Comrade Napoleon," announced Squealer, speaking very slowly -and firmly, "has stated categorically--categorically, comrade--that -Snowball was Jones's agent from the very beginning--yes, and from long -before the Rebellion was ever thought of." - -"Ah, that is different!" said Boxer. "If Comrade Napoleon says it, it must -be right." - -"That is the true spirit, comrade!" cried Squealer, but it was noticed he -cast a very ugly look at Boxer with his little twinkling eyes. He turned -to go, then paused and added impressively: "I warn every animal on this -farm to keep his eyes very wide open. For we have reason to think that -some of Snowball's secret agents are lurking among us at this moment!" - -Four days later, in the late afternoon, Napoleon ordered all the animals -to assemble in the yard. When they were all gathered together, Napoleon -emerged from the farmhouse, wearing both his medals (for he had recently -awarded himself "Animal Hero, First Class", and "Animal Hero, Second -Class"), with his nine huge dogs frisking round him and uttering growls -that sent shivers down all the animals' spines. They all cowered silently -in their places, seeming to know in advance that some terrible thing was -about to happen. - -Napoleon stood sternly surveying his audience; then he uttered a -high-pitched whimper. Immediately the dogs bounded forward, seized four of -the pigs by the ear and dragged them, squealing with pain and terror, to -Napoleon's feet. The pigs' ears were bleeding, the dogs had tasted blood, -and for a few moments they appeared to go quite mad. To the amazement of -everybody, three of them flung themselves upon Boxer. Boxer saw them -coming and put out his great hoof, caught a dog in mid-air, and pinned -him to the ground. The dog shrieked for mercy and the other two fled with -their tails between their legs. Boxer looked at Napoleon to know whether -he should crush the dog to death or let it go. Napoleon appeared to change -countenance, and sharply ordered Boxer to let the dog go, whereat Boxer -lifted his hoof, and the dog slunk away, bruised and howling. - -Presently the tumult died down. The four pigs waited, trembling, with -guilt written on every line of their countenances. Napoleon now called -upon them to confess their crimes. They were the same four pigs as had -protested when Napoleon abolished the Sunday Meetings. Without any further -prompting they confessed that they had been secretly in touch with -Snowball ever since his expulsion, that they had collaborated with him in -destroying the windmill, and that they had entered into an agreement with -him to hand over Animal Farm to Mr. Frederick. They added that Snowball -had privately admitted to them that he had been Jones's secret agent for -years past. When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly -tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether -any other animal had anything to confess. - -The three hens who had been the ringleaders in the attempted rebellion -over the eggs now came forward and stated that Snowball had appeared to -them in a dream and incited them to disobey Napoleon's orders. They, too, -were slaughtered. Then a goose came forward and confessed to having -secreted six ears of corn during the last year's harvest and eaten them in -the night. Then a sheep confessed to having urinated in the drinking -pool--urged to do this, so she said, by Snowball--and two other sheep -confessed to having murdered an old ram, an especially devoted follower of -Napoleon, by chasing him round and round a bonfire when he was suffering -from a cough. They were all slain on the spot. And so the tale of -confessions and executions went on, until there was a pile of corpses -lying before Napoleon's feet and the air was heavy with the smell of -blood, which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones. - -When it was all over, the remaining animals, except for the pigs and dogs, -crept away in a body. They were shaken and miserable. They did not know -which was more shocking--the treachery of the animals who had leagued -themselves with Snowball, or the cruel retribution they had just -witnessed. In the old days there had often been scenes of bloodshed -equally terrible, but it seemed to all of them that it was far worse now -that it was happening among themselves. Since Jones had left the farm, -until today, no animal had killed another animal. Not even a rat had been -killed. They had made their way on to the little knoll where the -half-finished windmill stood, and with one accord they all lay down as -though huddling together for warmth--Clover, Muriel, Benjamin, the cows, -the sheep, and a whole flock of geese and hens--everyone, indeed, except -the cat, who had suddenly disappeared just before Napoleon ordered the -animals to assemble. For some time nobody spoke. Only Boxer remained on -his feet. He fidgeted to and fro, swishing his long black tail against his -sides and occasionally uttering a little whinny of surprise. Finally he -said: - -"I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could -happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The -solution, as I see it, is to work harder. From now onwards I shall get up -a full hour earlier in the mornings." - -And he moved off at his lumbering trot and made for the quarry. Having got -there, he collected two successive loads of stone and dragged them down to -the windmill before retiring for the night. - -The animals huddled about Clover, not speaking. The knoll where they were -lying gave them a wide prospect across the countryside. Most of Animal -Farm was within their view--the long pasture stretching down to the main -road, the hayfield, the spinney, the drinking pool, the ploughed fields -where the young wheat was thick and green, and the red roofs of the farm -buildings with the smoke curling from the chimneys. It was a clear spring -evening. The grass and the bursting hedges were gilded by the level rays -of the sun. Never had the farm--and with a kind of surprise they -remembered that it was their own farm, every inch of it their own -property--appeared to the animals so desirable a place. As Clover looked -down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. If she could have spoken her -thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed -at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the -human race. These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had -looked forward to on that night when old Major first stirred them to -rebellion. If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been -of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each -working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak, as she -had protected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night of -Major's speech. Instead--she did not know why--they had come to a time -when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed -everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after -confessing to shocking crimes. There was no thought of rebellion or -disobedience in her mind. She knew that, even as things were, they were -far better off than they had been in the days of Jones, and that before -all else it was needful to prevent the return of the human beings. -Whatever happened she would remain faithful, work hard, carry out the -orders that were given to her, and accept the leadership of Napoleon. But -still, it was not for this that she and all the other animals had hoped -and toiled. It was not for this that they had built the windmill and faced -the bullets of Jones's gun. Such were her thoughts, though she lacked the -words to express them. - -At last, feeling this to be in some way a substitute for the words she was -unable to find, she began to sing 'Beasts of England'. The other animals -sitting round her took it up, and they sang it three times over--very -tunefully, but slowly and mournfully, in a way they had never sung it -before. - -They had just finished singing it for the third time when Squealer, -attended by two dogs, approached them with the air of having something -important to say. He announced that, by a special decree of Comrade -Napoleon, 'Beasts of England' had been abolished. From now onwards it was -forbidden to sing it. - -The animals were taken aback. - -"Why?" cried Muriel. - -"It's no longer needed, comrade," said Squealer stiffly. "'Beasts of -England' was the song of the Rebellion. But the Rebellion is now -completed. The execution of the traitors this afternoon was the final act. -The enemy both external and internal has been defeated. In 'Beasts of -England' we expressed our longing for a better society in days to come. -But that society has now been established. Clearly this song has no longer -any purpose." - -Frightened though they were, some of the animals might possibly have -protested, but at this moment the sheep set up their usual bleating of -"Four legs good, two legs bad," which went on for several minutes and put -an end to the discussion. - -So 'Beasts of England' was heard no more. In its place Minimus, the poet, -had composed another song which began: - - -Animal Farm, Animal Farm, -Never through me shalt thou come to harm! - - -and this was sung every Sunday morning after the hoisting of the flag. -But somehow neither the words nor the tune ever seemed to the animals to -come up to 'Beasts of England'. - - - - - Chapter VIII - - - -A few days later, when the terror caused by the executions had died down, -some of the animals remembered--or thought they remembered--that the Sixth -Commandment decreed "No animal shall kill any other animal." And though no -one cared to mention it in the hearing of the pigs or the dogs, it was -felt that the killings which had taken place did not square with this. -Clover asked Benjamin to read her the Sixth Commandment, and when -Benjamin, as usual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters, she -fetched Muriel. Muriel read the Commandment for her. It ran: "No animal -shall kill any other animal WITHOUT CAUSE." Somehow or other, the last two -words had slipped out of the animals' memory. But they saw now that the -Commandment had not been violated; for clearly there was good reason for -killing the traitors who had leagued themselves with Snowball. - -Throughout the year the animals worked even harder than they had worked in -the previous year. To rebuild the windmill, with walls twice as thick as -before, and to finish it by the appointed date, together with the regular -work of the farm, was a tremendous labour. There were times when it seemed -to the animals that they worked longer hours and fed no better than they -had done in Jones's day. On Sunday mornings Squealer, holding down a long -strip of paper with his trotter, would read out to them lists of figures -proving that the production of every class of foodstuff had increased by -two hundred per cent, three hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent, -as the case might be. The animals saw no reason to disbelieve him, -especially as they could no longer remember very clearly what conditions -had been like before the Rebellion. All the same, there were days when -they felt that they would sooner have had less figures and more food. - -All orders were now issued through Squealer or one of the other pigs. -Napoleon himself was not seen in public as often as once in a fortnight. -When he did appear, he was attended not only by his retinue of dogs but by -a black cockerel who marched in front of him and acted as a kind of -trumpeter, letting out a loud "cock-a-doodle-doo" before Napoleon spoke. -Even in the farmhouse, it was said, Napoleon inhabited separate apartments -from the others. He took his meals alone, with two dogs to wait upon him, -and always ate from the Crown Derby dinner service which had been in the -glass cupboard in the drawing-room. It was also announced that the gun -would be fired every year on Napoleon's birthday, as well as on the other -two anniversaries. - -Napoleon was now never spoken of simply as "Napoleon." He was always -referred to in formal style as "our Leader, Comrade Napoleon," and this -pigs liked to invent for him such titles as Father of All Animals, Terror -of Mankind, Protector of the Sheep-fold, Ducklings' Friend, and the like. -In his speeches, Squealer would talk with the tears rolling down his -cheeks of Napoleon's wisdom the goodness of his heart, and the deep love -he bore to all animals everywhere, even and especially the unhappy animals -who still lived in ignorance and slavery on other farms. It had become -usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and -every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to -another, "Under the guidance of our Leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid -five eggs in six days"; or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would -exclaim, "Thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this -water tastes!" The general feeling on the farm was well expressed in a -poem entitled Comrade Napoleon, which was composed by Minimus and which -ran as follows: - - -Friend of fatherless! -Fountain of happiness! -Lord of the swill-bucket! Oh, how my soul is on -Fire when I gaze at thy -Calm and commanding eye, -Like the sun in the sky, -Comrade Napoleon! - -Thou are the giver of -All that thy creatures love, -Full belly twice a day, clean straw to roll upon; -Every beast great or small -Sleeps at peace in his stall, -Thou watchest over all, -Comrade Napoleon! - -Had I a sucking-pig, -Ere he had grown as big -Even as a pint bottle or as a rolling-pin, -He should have learned to be -Faithful and true to thee, -Yes, his first squeak should be -"Comrade Napoleon!" - - -Napoleon approved of this poem and caused it to be inscribed on the wall -of the big barn, at the opposite end from the Seven Commandments. It was -surmounted by a portrait of Napoleon, in profile, executed by Squealer in -white paint. - -Meanwhile, through the agency of Whymper, Napoleon was engaged in -complicated negotiations with Frederick and Pilkington. The pile of timber -was still unsold. Of the two, Frederick was the more anxious to get hold -of it, but he would not offer a reasonable price. At the same time there -were renewed rumours that Frederick and his men were plotting to attack -Animal Farm and to destroy the windmill, the building of which had aroused -furious jealousy in him. Snowball was known to be still skulking on -Pinchfield Farm. In the middle of the summer the animals were alarmed to -hear that three hens had come forward and confessed that, inspired by -Snowball, they had entered into a plot to murder Napoleon. They were -executed immediately, and fresh precautions for Napoleon's safety were -taken. Four dogs guarded his bed at night, one at each corner, and a young -pig named Pinkeye was given the task of tasting all his food before he ate -it, lest it should be poisoned. - -At about the same time it was given out that Napoleon had arranged to sell -the pile of timber to Mr. Pilkington; he was also going to enter into a -regular agreement for the exchange of certain products between Animal Farm -and Foxwood. The relations between Napoleon and Pilkington, though they -were only conducted through Whymper, were now almost friendly. The animals -distrusted Pilkington, as a human being, but greatly preferred him to -Frederick, whom they both feared and hated. As the summer wore on, and the -windmill neared completion, the rumours of an impending treacherous attack -grew stronger and stronger. Frederick, it was said, intended to bring -against them twenty men all armed with guns, and he had already bribed the -magistrates and police, so that if he could once get hold of the -title-deeds of Animal Farm they would ask no questions. Moreover, terrible -stories were leaking out from Pinchfield about the cruelties that -Frederick practised upon his animals. He had flogged an old horse to -death, he starved his cows, he had killed a dog by throwing it into the -furnace, he amused himself in the evenings by making cocks fight with -splinters of razor-blade tied to their spurs. The animals' blood boiled -with rage when they heard of these things being done to their comrades, -and sometimes they clamoured to be allowed to go out in a body and attack -Pinchfield Farm, drive out the humans, and set the animals free. But -Squealer counselled them to avoid rash actions and trust in Comrade -Napoleon's strategy. - -Nevertheless, feeling against Frederick continued to run high. One Sunday -morning Napoleon appeared in the barn and explained that he had never at -any time contemplated selling the pile of timber to Frederick; he -considered it beneath his dignity, he said, to have dealings with -scoundrels of that description. The pigeons who were still sent out to -spread tidings of the Rebellion were forbidden to set foot anywhere on -Foxwood, and were also ordered to drop their former slogan of "Death to -Humanity" in favour of "Death to Frederick." In the late summer yet -another of Snowball's machinations was laid bare. The wheat crop was full -of weeds, and it was discovered that on one of his nocturnal visits -Snowball had mixed weed seeds with the seed corn. A gander who had been -privy to the plot had confessed his guilt to Squealer and immediately -committed suicide by swallowing deadly nightshade berries. The animals -now also learned that Snowball had never--as many of them had believed -hitherto--received the order of "Animal Hero, First Class." This was -merely a legend which had been spread some time after the Battle of the -Cowshed by Snowball himself. So far from being decorated, he had been -censured for showing cowardice in the battle. Once again some of the -animals heard this with a certain bewilderment, but Squealer was soon able -to convince them that their memories had been at fault. - -In the autumn, by a tremendous, exhausting effort--for the harvest had to -be gathered at almost the same time--the windmill was finished. The -machinery had still to be installed, and Whymper was negotiating the -purchase of it, but the structure was completed. In the teeth of every -difficulty, in spite of inexperience, of primitive implements, of bad luck -and of Snowball's treachery, the work had been finished punctually to the -very day! Tired out but proud, the animals walked round and round their -masterpiece, which appeared even more beautiful in their eyes than when it -had been built the first time. Moreover, the walls were twice as thick as -before. Nothing short of explosives would lay them low this time! And when -they thought of how they had laboured, what discouragements they had -overcome, and the enormous difference that would be made in their lives -when the sails were turning and the dynamos running--when they thought of -all this, their tiredness forsook them and they gambolled round and round -the windmill, uttering cries of triumph. Napoleon himself, attended by his -dogs and his cockerel, came down to inspect the completed work; he -personally congratulated the animals on their achievement, and announced -that the mill would be named Napoleon Mill. - -Two days later the animals were called together for a special meeting in -the barn. They were struck dumb with surprise when Napoleon announced that -he had sold the pile of timber to Frederick. Tomorrow Frederick's wagons -would arrive and begin carting it away. Throughout the whole period of his -seeming friendship with Pilkington, Napoleon had really been in secret -agreement with Frederick. - -All relations with Foxwood had been broken off; insulting messages had -been sent to Pilkington. The pigeons had been told to avoid Pinchfield -Farm and to alter their slogan from "Death to Frederick" to "Death to -Pilkington." At the same time Napoleon assured the animals that the -stories of an impending attack on Animal Farm were completely untrue, and -that the tales about Frederick's cruelty to his own animals had been -greatly exaggerated. All these rumours had probably originated with -Snowball and his agents. It now appeared that Snowball was not, after all, -hiding on Pinchfield Farm, and in fact had never been there in his life: -he was living--in considerable luxury, so it was said--at Foxwood, and had -in reality been a pensioner of Pilkington for years past. - -The pigs were in ecstasies over Napoleon's cunning. By seeming to be -friendly with Pilkington he had forced Frederick to raise his price by -twelve pounds. But the superior quality of Napoleon's mind, said Squealer, -was shown in the fact that he trusted nobody, not even Frederick. -Frederick had wanted to pay for the timber with something called a cheque, -which, it seemed, was a piece of paper with a promise to pay written upon -it. But Napoleon was too clever for him. He had demanded payment in real -five-pound notes, which were to be handed over before the timber was -removed. Already Frederick had paid up; and the sum he had paid was just -enough to buy the machinery for the windmill. - -Meanwhile the timber was being carted away at high speed. When it was all -gone, another special meeting was held in the barn for the animals to -inspect Frederick's bank-notes. Smiling beatifically, and wearing both his -decorations, Napoleon reposed on a bed of straw on the platform, with the -money at his side, neatly piled on a china dish from the farmhouse -kitchen. The animals filed slowly past, and each gazed his fill. And Boxer -put out his nose to sniff at the bank-notes, and the flimsy white things -stirred and rustled in his breath. - -Three days later there was a terrible hullabaloo. Whymper, his face deadly -pale, came racing up the path on his bicycle, flung it down in the yard -and rushed straight into the farmhouse. The next moment a choking roar of -rage sounded from Napoleon's apartments. The news of what had happened -sped round the farm like wildfire. The banknotes were forgeries! Frederick -had got the timber for nothing! - -Napoleon called the animals together immediately and in a terrible voice -pronounced the death sentence upon Frederick. When captured, he said, -Frederick should be boiled alive. At the same time he warned them that -after this treacherous deed the worst was to be expected. Frederick and -his men might make their long-expected attack at any moment. Sentinels -were placed at all the approaches to the farm. In addition, four pigeons -were sent to Foxwood with a conciliatory message, which it was hoped might -re-establish good relations with Pilkington. - -The very next morning the attack came. The animals were at breakfast when -the look-outs came racing in with the news that Frederick and his -followers had already come through the five-barred gate. Boldly enough the -animals sallied forth to meet them, but this time they did not have the -easy victory that they had had in the Battle of the Cowshed. There were -fifteen men, with half a dozen guns between them, and they opened fire as -soon as they got within fifty yards. The animals could not face the -terrible explosions and the stinging pellets, and in spite of the efforts -of Napoleon and Boxer to rally them, they were soon driven back. A number -of them were already wounded. They took refuge in the farm buildings and -peeped cautiously out from chinks and knot-holes. The whole of the big -pasture, including the windmill, was in the hands of the enemy. For the -moment even Napoleon seemed at a loss. He paced up and down without a -word, his tail rigid and twitching. Wistful glances were sent in the -direction of Foxwood. If Pilkington and his men would help them, the day -might yet be won. But at this moment the four pigeons, who had been sent -out on the day before, returned, one of them bearing a scrap of paper from -Pilkington. On it was pencilled the words: "Serves you right." - -Meanwhile Frederick and his men had halted about the windmill. The animals -watched them, and a murmur of dismay went round. Two of the men had -produced a crowbar and a sledge hammer. They were going to knock the -windmill down. - -"Impossible!" cried Napoleon. "We have built the walls far too thick for -that. They could not knock it down in a week. Courage, comrades!" - -But Benjamin was watching the movements of the men intently. The two with -the hammer and the crowbar were drilling a hole near the base of the -windmill. Slowly, and with an air almost of amusement, Benjamin nodded his -long muzzle. - -"I thought so," he said. "Do you not see what they are doing? In another -moment they are going to pack blasting powder into that hole." - -Terrified, the animals waited. It was impossible now to venture out of the -shelter of the buildings. After a few minutes the men were seen to be -running in all directions. Then there was a deafening roar. The pigeons -swirled into the air, and all the animals, except Napoleon, flung -themselves flat on their bellies and hid their faces. When they got up -again, a huge cloud of black smoke was hanging where the windmill had -been. Slowly the breeze drifted it away. The windmill had ceased to exist! - -At this sight the animals' courage returned to them. The fear and despair -they had felt a moment earlier were drowned in their rage against this -vile, contemptible act. A mighty cry for vengeance went up, and without -waiting for further orders they charged forth in a body and made straight -for the enemy. This time they did not heed the cruel pellets that swept -over them like hail. It was a savage, bitter battle. The men fired again -and again, and, when the animals got to close quarters, lashed out with -their sticks and their heavy boots. A cow, three sheep, and two geese were -killed, and nearly everyone was wounded. Even Napoleon, who was directing -operations from the rear, had the tip of his tail chipped by a pellet. But -the men did not go unscathed either. Three of them had their heads broken -by blows from Boxer's hoofs; another was gored in the belly by a cow's -horn; another had his trousers nearly torn off by Jessie and Bluebell. And -when the nine dogs of Napoleon's own bodyguard, whom he had instructed to -make a detour under cover of the hedge, suddenly appeared on the men's -flank, baying ferociously, panic overtook them. They saw that they were in -danger of being surrounded. Frederick shouted to his men to get out while -the going was good, and the next moment the cowardly enemy was running for -dear life. The animals chased them right down to the bottom of the field, -and got in some last kicks at them as they forced their way through the -thorn hedge. - -They had won, but they were weary and bleeding. Slowly they began to limp -back towards the farm. The sight of their dead comrades stretched upon the -grass moved some of them to tears. And for a little while they halted in -sorrowful silence at the place where the windmill had once stood. Yes, it -was gone; almost the last trace of their labour was gone! Even the -foundations were partially destroyed. And in rebuilding it they could not -this time, as before, make use of the fallen stones. This time the stones -had vanished too. The force of the explosion had flung them to distances -of hundreds of yards. It was as though the windmill had never been. - -As they approached the farm Squealer, who had unaccountably been absent -during the fighting, came skipping towards them, whisking his tail and -beaming with satisfaction. And the animals heard, from the direction of -the farm buildings, the solemn booming of a gun. - -"What is that gun firing for?" said Boxer. - -"To celebrate our victory!" cried Squealer. - -"What victory?" said Boxer. His knees were bleeding, he had lost a shoe -and split his hoof, and a dozen pellets had lodged themselves in his hind -leg. - -"What victory, comrade? Have we not driven the enemy off our soil--the -sacred soil of Animal Farm?" - -"But they have destroyed the windmill. And we had worked on it for two -years!" - -"What matter? We will build another windmill. We will build six windmills -if we feel like it. You do not appreciate, comrade, the mighty thing that -we have done. The enemy was in occupation of this very ground that we -stand upon. And now--thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon--we have -won every inch of it back again!" - -"Then we have won back what we had before," said Boxer. - -"That is our victory," said Squealer. - -They limped into the yard. The pellets under the skin of Boxer's leg -smarted painfully. He saw ahead of him the heavy labour of rebuilding the -windmill from the foundations, and already in imagination he braced -himself for the task. But for the first time it occurred to him that he -was eleven years old and that perhaps his great muscles were not quite -what they had once been. - -But when the animals saw the green flag flying, and heard the gun firing -again--seven times it was fired in all--and heard the speech that Napoleon -made, congratulating them on their conduct, it did seem to them after all -that they had won a great victory. The animals slain in the battle were -given a solemn funeral. Boxer and Clover pulled the wagon which served as -a hearse, and Napoleon himself walked at the head of the procession. Two -whole days were given over to celebrations. There were songs, speeches, -and more firing of the gun, and a special gift of an apple was bestowed on -every animal, with two ounces of corn for each bird and three biscuits for -each dog. It was announced that the battle would be called the Battle of -the Windmill, and that Napoleon had created a new decoration, the Order -of the Green Banner, which he had conferred upon himself. In the general -rejoicings the unfortunate affair of the banknotes was forgotten. - -It was a few days later than this that the pigs came upon a case of whisky -in the cellars of the farmhouse. It had been overlooked at the time when -the house was first occupied. That night there came from the farmhouse the -sound of loud singing, in which, to everyone's surprise, the strains of -'Beasts of England' were mixed up. At about half past nine Napoleon, -wearing an old bowler hat of Mr. Jones's, was distinctly seen to emerge -from the back door, gallop rapidly round the yard, and disappear indoors -again. But in the morning a deep silence hung over the farmhouse. Not a -pig appeared to be stirring. It was nearly nine o'clock when Squealer made -his appearance, walking slowly and dejectedly, his eyes dull, his tail -hanging limply behind him, and with every appearance of being seriously -ill. He called the animals together and told them that he had a terrible -piece of news to impart. Comrade Napoleon was dying! - -A cry of lamentation went up. Straw was laid down outside the doors of the -farmhouse, and the animals walked on tiptoe. With tears in their eyes they -asked one another what they should do if their Leader were taken away from -them. A rumour went round that Snowball had after all contrived to -introduce poison into Napoleon's food. At eleven o'clock Squealer came -out to make another announcement. As his last act upon earth, Comrade -Napoleon had pronounced a solemn decree: the drinking of alcohol was to be -punished by death. - -By the evening, however, Napoleon appeared to be somewhat better, and the -following morning Squealer was able to tell them that he was well on the -way to recovery. By the evening of that day Napoleon was back at work, and -on the next day it was learned that he had instructed Whymper to purchase -in Willingdon some booklets on brewing and distilling. A week later -Napoleon gave orders that the small paddock beyond the orchard, which it -had previously been intended to set aside as a grazing-ground for animals -who were past work, was to be ploughed up. It was given out that the -pasture was exhausted and needed re-seeding; but it soon became known that -Napoleon intended to sow it with barley. - -About this time there occurred a strange incident which hardly anyone was -able to understand. One night at about twelve o'clock there was a loud -crash in the yard, and the animals rushed out of their stalls. It was a -moonlit night. At the foot of the end wall of the big barn, where the -Seven Commandments were written, there lay a ladder broken in two pieces. -Squealer, temporarily stunned, was sprawling beside it, and near at hand -there lay a lantern, a paint-brush, and an overturned pot of white paint. -The dogs immediately made a ring round Squealer, and escorted him back to -the farmhouse as soon as he was able to walk. None of the animals could -form any idea as to what this meant, except old Benjamin, who nodded his -muzzle with a knowing air, and seemed to understand, but would say nothing. - -But a few days later Muriel, reading over the Seven Commandments to -herself, noticed that there was yet another of them which the animals had -remembered wrong. They had thought the Fifth Commandment was "No animal -shall drink alcohol," but there were two words that they had forgotten. -Actually the Commandment read: "No animal shall drink alcohol TO EXCESS." - - - - - Chapter IX - - - -Boxer's split hoof was a long time in healing. They had started the -rebuilding of the windmill the day after the victory celebrations were -ended. Boxer refused to take even a day off work, and made it a point of -honour not to let it be seen that he was in pain. In the evenings he would -admit privately to Clover that the hoof troubled him a great deal. Clover -treated the hoof with poultices of herbs which she prepared by chewing -them, and both she and Benjamin urged Boxer to work less hard. "A horse's -lungs do not last for ever," she said to him. But Boxer would not listen. -He had, he said, only one real ambition left--to see the windmill well -under way before he reached the age for retirement. - -At the beginning, when the laws of Animal Farm were first formulated, -the retiring age had been fixed for horses and pigs at twelve, for cows at -fourteen, for dogs at nine, for sheep at seven, and for hens and geese at -five. Liberal old-age pensions had been agreed upon. As yet no animal had -actually retired on pension, but of late the subject had been discussed -more and more. Now that the small field beyond the orchard had been set -aside for barley, it was rumoured that a corner of the large pasture was -to be fenced off and turned into a grazing-ground for superannuated -animals. For a horse, it was said, the pension would be five pounds of -corn a day and, in winter, fifteen pounds of hay, with a carrot or -possibly an apple on public holidays. Boxer's twelfth birthday was due in -the late summer of the following year. - -Meanwhile life was hard. The winter was as cold as the last one had been, -and food was even shorter. Once again all rations were reduced, except -those of the pigs and the dogs. A too rigid equality in rations, Squealer -explained, would have been contrary to the principles of Animalism. In any -case he had no difficulty in proving to the other animals that they were -NOT in reality short of food, whatever the appearances might be. For the -time being, certainly, it had been found necessary to make a readjustment -of rations (Squealer always spoke of it as a "readjustment," never as a -"reduction"), but in comparison with the days of Jones, the improvement -was enormous. Reading out the figures in a shrill, rapid voice, he proved -to them in detail that they had more oats, more hay, more turnips than -they had had in Jones's day, that they worked shorter hours, that their -drinking water was of better quality, that they lived longer, that a -larger proportion of their young ones survived infancy, and that they had -more straw in their stalls and suffered less from fleas. The animals -believed every word of it. Truth to tell, Jones and all he stood for had -almost faded out of their memories. They knew that life nowadays was harsh -and bare, that they were often hungry and often cold, and that they were -usually working when they were not asleep. But doubtless it had been worse -in the old days. They were glad to believe so. Besides, in those days they -had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, -as Squealer did not fail to point out. - -There were many more mouths to feed now. In the autumn the four sows had -all littered about simultaneously, producing thirty-one young pigs between -them. The young pigs were piebald, and as Napoleon was the only boar on -the farm, it was possible to guess at their parentage. It was announced -that later, when bricks and timber had been purchased, a schoolroom would -be built in the farmhouse garden. For the time being, the young pigs were -given their instruction by Napoleon himself in the farmhouse kitchen. They -took their exercise in the garden, and were discouraged from playing with -the other young animals. About this time, too, it was laid down as a rule -that when a pig and any other animal met on the path, the other animal -must stand aside: and also that all pigs, of whatever degree, were to have -the privilege of wearing green ribbons on their tails on Sundays. - -The farm had had a fairly successful year, but was still short of money. -There were the bricks, sand, and lime for the schoolroom to be purchased, -and it would also be necessary to begin saving up again for the machinery -for the windmill. Then there were lamp oil and candles for the house, -sugar for Napoleon's own table (he forbade this to the other pigs, on the -ground that it made them fat), and all the usual replacements such as -tools, nails, string, coal, wire, scrap-iron, and dog biscuits. A stump of -hay and part of the potato crop were sold off, and the contract for eggs -was increased to six hundred a week, so that that year the hens barely -hatched enough chicks to keep their numbers at the same level. Rations, -reduced in December, were reduced again in February, and lanterns in the -stalls were forbidden to save oil. But the pigs seemed comfortable enough, -and in fact were putting on weight if anything. One afternoon in late -February a warm, rich, appetising scent, such as the animals had never -smelt before, wafted itself across the yard from the little brew-house, -which had been disused in Jones's time, and which stood beyond the -kitchen. Someone said it was the smell of cooking barley. The animals -sniffed the air hungrily and wondered whether a warm mash was being -prepared for their supper. But no warm mash appeared, and on the following -Sunday it was announced that from now onwards all barley would be reserved -for the pigs. The field beyond the orchard had already been sown with -barley. And the news soon leaked out that every pig was now receiving a -ration of a pint of beer daily, with half a gallon for Napoleon himself, -which was always served to him in the Crown Derby soup tureen. - -But if there were hardships to be borne, they were partly offset by the -fact that life nowadays had a greater dignity than it had had before. -There were more songs, more speeches, more processions. Napoleon had -commanded that once a week there should be held something called a -Spontaneous Demonstration, the object of which was to celebrate the -struggles and triumphs of Animal Farm. At the appointed time the animals -would leave their work and march round the precincts of the farm in -military formation, with the pigs leading, then the horses, then the cows, -then the sheep, and then the poultry. The dogs flanked the procession and -at the head of all marched Napoleon's black cockerel. Boxer and Clover -always carried between them a green banner marked with the hoof and the -horn and the caption, "Long live Comrade Napoleon!" Afterwards there were -recitations of poems composed in Napoleon's honour, and a speech by -Squealer giving particulars of the latest increases in the production of -foodstuffs, and on occasion a shot was fired from the gun. The sheep were -the greatest devotees of the Spontaneous Demonstration, and if anyone -complained (as a few animals sometimes did, when no pigs or dogs were near) -that they wasted time and meant a lot of standing about in the cold, the -sheep were sure to silence him with a tremendous bleating of "Four legs -good, two legs bad!" But by and large the animals enjoyed these -celebrations. They found it comforting to be reminded that, after all, -they were truly their own masters and that the work they did was for their -own benefit. So that, what with the songs, the processions, Squealer's -lists of figures, the thunder of the gun, the crowing of the cockerel, -and the fluttering of the flag, they were able to forget that their -bellies were empty, at least part of the time. - -In April, Animal Farm was proclaimed a Republic, and it became necessary -to elect a President. There was only one candidate, Napoleon, who was -elected unanimously. On the same day it was given out that fresh documents -had been discovered which revealed further details about Snowball's -complicity with Jones. It now appeared that Snowball had not, as the -animals had previously imagined, merely attempted to lose the Battle of -the Cowshed by means of a stratagem, but had been openly fighting on -Jones's side. In fact, it was he who had actually been the leader of the -human forces, and had charged into battle with the words "Long live -Humanity!" on his lips. The wounds on Snowball's back, which a few of the -animals still remembered to have seen, had been inflicted by Napoleon's -teeth. - -In the middle of the summer Moses the raven suddenly reappeared on the -farm, after an absence of several years. He was quite unchanged, still did -no work, and talked in the same strain as ever about Sugarcandy Mountain. -He would perch on a stump, flap his black wings, and talk by the hour to -anyone who would listen. "Up there, comrades," he would say solemnly, -pointing to the sky with his large beak--"up there, just on the other side -of that dark cloud that you can see--there it lies, Sugarcandy Mountain, -that happy country where we poor animals shall rest for ever from our -labours!" He even claimed to have been there on one of his higher flights, -and to have seen the everlasting fields of clover and the linseed cake and -lump sugar growing on the hedges. Many of the animals believed him. Their -lives now, they reasoned, were hungry and laborious; was it not right and -just that a better world should exist somewhere else? A thing that was -difficult to determine was the attitude of the pigs towards Moses. They -all declared contemptuously that his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain -were lies, and yet they allowed him to remain on the farm, not working, -with an allowance of a gill of beer a day. - -After his hoof had healed up, Boxer worked harder than ever. Indeed, all -the animals worked like slaves that year. Apart from the regular work of -the farm, and the rebuilding of the windmill, there was the schoolhouse -for the young pigs, which was started in March. Sometimes the long hours -on insufficient food were hard to bear, but Boxer never faltered. In -nothing that he said or did was there any sign that his strength was not -what it had been. It was only his appearance that was a little altered; -his hide was less shiny than it had used to be, and his great haunches -seemed to have shrunken. The others said, "Boxer will pick up when the -spring grass comes on"; but the spring came and Boxer grew no fatter. -Sometimes on the slope leading to the top of the quarry, when he braced -his muscles against the weight of some vast boulder, it seemed that -nothing kept him on his feet except the will to continue. At such times -his lips were seen to form the words, "I will work harder"; he had no -voice left. Once again Clover and Benjamin warned him to take care of his -health, but Boxer paid no attention. His twelfth birthday was approaching. -He did not care what happened so long as a good store of stone was -accumulated before he went on pension. - -Late one evening in the summer, a sudden rumour ran round the farm that -something had happened to Boxer. He had gone out alone to drag a load of -stone down to the windmill. And sure enough, the rumour was true. 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. There lay Boxer, between the shafts of the cart, his neck -stretched out, unable even to raise his head. His eyes were glazed, his -sides matted with sweat. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his -mouth. Clover dropped to her knees at his side. - -"Boxer!" she cried, "how are you?" - -"It is my lung," said Boxer in a weak voice. "It does not matter. I think -you will be able to finish the windmill without me. There is a pretty good -store of stone accumulated. I had only another month to go in any case. -To tell you the truth, I had been looking forward to my retirement. And -perhaps, as Benjamin is growing old too, they will let him retire at the -same time and be a companion to me." - -"We must get help at once," said Clover. "Run, somebody, and tell Squealer -what has happened." - -All the other animals immediately raced back to the farmhouse to give -Squealer the news. Only Clover remained, and Benjamin who lay down at -Boxer's side, and, without speaking, kept the flies off him with his long -tail. After about a quarter of an hour Squealer appeared, full of sympathy -and concern. He said that Comrade Napoleon had learned with the very -deepest distress of this misfortune to one of the most loyal workers on -the farm, and was already making arrangements to send Boxer to be treated -in the hospital at Willingdon. The animals felt a little uneasy at this. -Except for Mollie and Snowball, no other animal had ever left the farm, -and they did not like to think of their sick comrade in the hands of human -beings. However, Squealer easily convinced them that the veterinary -surgeon in Willingdon could treat Boxer's case more satisfactorily than -could be done on the farm. And about half an hour later, when Boxer had -somewhat recovered, he was with difficulty got on to his feet, and managed -to limp back to his stall, where Clover and Benjamin had prepared a good -bed of straw for him. - -For the next two days Boxer remained in his stall. The pigs had sent out a -large bottle of pink medicine which they had found in the medicine chest -in the bathroom, and Clover administered it to Boxer twice a day after -meals. In the evenings she lay in his stall and talked to him, while -Benjamin kept the flies off him. Boxer professed not to be sorry for what -had happened. If he made a good recovery, he might expect to live another -three years, and he looked forward to the peaceful days that he would -spend in the corner of the big pasture. It would be the first time that he -had had leisure to study and improve his mind. He intended, he said, to -devote the rest of his life to learning the remaining twenty-two letters -of the alphabet. - -However, Benjamin and Clover could only be with Boxer after working hours, -and it was in the middle of the day when the van came to take him away. -The animals were all at work weeding turnips under the supervision of a -pig, when they were astonished to see Benjamin come galloping from the -direction of the farm buildings, braying at the top of his voice. It was -the first time that they had ever seen Benjamin excited--indeed, it was -the first time that anyone had ever seen him gallop. "Quick, quick!" he -shouted. "Come at once! They're taking Boxer away!" Without waiting for -orders from the pig, the animals broke off work and raced back to the farm -buildings. Sure enough, there in the yard was a large closed van, drawn by -two horses, with lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in a -low-crowned bowler hat sitting on the driver's seat. And Boxer's stall was -empty. - -The animals crowded round the van. "Good-bye, Boxer!" they chorused, -"good-bye!" - -"Fools! Fools!" shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the -earth with his small hoofs. "Fools! Do you not see what is written on the -side of that van?" - -That gave the animals pause, and there was a hush. Muriel began to spell -out the words. But Benjamin pushed her aside and in the midst of a deadly -silence he read: - -"'Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler, Willingdon. Dealer -in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied.' Do you not understand what that -means? They are taking Boxer to the knacker's!" - -A cry of horror burst from all the animals. At this moment the man on the -box whipped up his horses and the van moved out of the yard at a smart -trot. All the animals followed, crying out at the tops of their voices. -Clover forced her way to the front. The van began to gather speed. Clover -tried to stir her stout limbs to a gallop, and achieved a canter. "Boxer!" -she cried. "Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!" And just at this moment, as though he -had heard the uproar outside, Boxer's face, with the white stripe down his -nose, appeared at the small window at the back of the van. - -"Boxer!" cried Clover in a terrible voice. "Boxer! Get out! Get out -quickly! They're taking you to your death!" - -All the animals took up the cry of "Get out, Boxer, get out!" But the van -was already gathering speed and drawing away from them. It was uncertain -whether Boxer had understood what Clover had said. But a moment later his -face disappeared from the window and there was the sound of a tremendous -drumming of hoofs inside the van. He was trying to kick his way out. The -time had been when a few kicks from Boxer's hoofs would have smashed the -van to matchwood. But alas! his strength had left him; and in a few -moments the sound of drumming hoofs grew fainter and died away. In -desperation the animals began appealing to the two horses which drew the -van to stop. "Comrades, comrades!" they shouted. "Don't take your own -brother to his death!" But the stupid brutes, too ignorant to realise -what was happening, merely set back their ears and quickened their pace. -Boxer's face did not reappear at the window. Too late, someone thought of -racing ahead and shutting the five-barred gate; but in another moment the -van was through it and rapidly disappearing down the road. Boxer was never -seen again. - -Three days later it was announced that he had died in the hospital at -Willingdon, in spite of receiving every attention a horse could have. -Squealer came to announce the news to the others. He had, he said, been -present during Boxer's last hours. - -"It was the most affecting sight I have ever seen!" said Squealer, lifting -his trotter and wiping away a tear. "I was at his bedside at the very -last. And at the end, almost too weak to speak, he whispered in my ear -that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was -finished. 'Forward, comrades!' he whispered. 'Forward in the name of the -Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm! Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is -always right.' Those were his very last words, comrades." - -Here Squealer's demeanour suddenly changed. He fell silent for a moment, -and his little eyes darted suspicious glances from side to side before he -proceeded. - -It had come to his knowledge, he said, that a foolish and wicked rumour -had been circulated at the time of Boxer's removal. Some of the animals -had noticed that the van which took Boxer away was marked "Horse -Slaughterer," and had actually jumped to the conclusion that Boxer was -being sent to the knacker's. It was almost unbelievable, said Squealer, -that any animal could be so stupid. Surely, he cried indignantly, whisking -his tail and skipping from side to side, surely they knew their beloved -Leader, Comrade Napoleon, better than that? But the explanation was really -very simple. The van had previously been the property of the knacker, and -had been bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted the old -name out. That was how the mistake had arisen. - -The animals were enormously relieved to hear this. And when Squealer went -on to give further graphic details of Boxer's death-bed, the admirable -care he had received, and the expensive medicines for which Napoleon had -paid without a thought as to the cost, their last doubts disappeared and -the sorrow that they felt for their comrade's death was tempered by the -thought that at least he had died happy. - -Napoleon himself appeared at the meeting on the following Sunday morning -and pronounced a short oration in Boxer's honour. It had not been -possible, he said, to bring back their lamented comrade's remains for -interment on the farm, but he had ordered a large wreath to be made from -the laurels in the farmhouse garden and sent down to be placed on Boxer's -grave. And in a few days' time the pigs intended to hold a memorial -banquet in Boxer's honour. Napoleon ended his speech with a reminder of -Boxer's two favourite maxims, "I will work harder" and "Comrade Napoleon -is always right"--maxims, he said, which every animal would do well to -adopt as his own. - -On the day appointed for the banquet, a grocer's van drove up from -Willingdon and delivered a large wooden crate at the farmhouse. That night -there was the sound of uproarious singing, which was followed by what -sounded like a violent quarrel and ended at about eleven o'clock with a -tremendous crash of glass. No one stirred in the farmhouse before noon on -the following day, and the word went round that from somewhere or other -the pigs had acquired the money to buy themselves another case of whisky. - - - - - Chapter X - - - -Years passed. The seasons came and went, the short animal lives fled by. -A time came when there was no one who remembered the old days before the -Rebellion, except Clover, Benjamin, Moses the raven, and a number of the -pigs. - -Muriel was dead; Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher were dead. Jones too was -dead--he had died in an inebriates' home in another part of the country. -Snowball was forgotten. Boxer was forgotten, except by the few who had -known him. Clover was an old stout mare now, stiff in the joints and with -a tendency to rheumy eyes. She was two years past the retiring age, but in -fact no animal had ever actually retired. The talk of setting aside a -corner of the pasture for superannuated animals had long since been -dropped. Napoleon was now a mature boar of twenty-four stone. Squealer was -so fat that he could with difficulty see out of his eyes. Only old -Benjamin was much the same as ever, except for being a little greyer about -the muzzle, and, since Boxer's death, more morose and taciturn than ever. - -There were many more creatures on the farm now, though the increase was -not so great as had been expected in earlier years. Many animals had been -born to whom the Rebellion was only a dim tradition, passed on by word of -mouth, and others had been bought who had never heard mention of such a -thing before their arrival. The farm possessed three horses now besides -Clover. They were fine upstanding beasts, willing workers and good -comrades, but very stupid. None of them proved able to learn the alphabet -beyond the letter B. They accepted everything that they were told about -the Rebellion and the principles of Animalism, especially from Clover, for -whom they had an almost filial respect; but it was doubtful whether they -understood very much of it. - -The farm was more prosperous now, and better organised: it had even been -enlarged by two fields which had been bought from Mr. Pilkington. The -windmill had been successfully completed at last, and the farm possessed a -threshing machine and a hay elevator of its own, and various new buildings -had been added to it. Whymper had bought himself a dogcart. The windmill, -however, had not after all been used for generating electrical power. It -was used for milling corn, and brought in a handsome money profit. The -animals were hard at work building yet another windmill; when that one was -finished, so it was said, the dynamos would be installed. But the luxuries -of which Snowball had once taught the animals to dream, the stalls with -electric light and hot and cold water, and the three-day week, were no -longer talked about. Napoleon had denounced such ideas as contrary to the -spirit of Animalism. The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard -and living frugally. - -Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the -animals themselves any richer-except, of course, for the pigs and the -dogs. Perhaps this was partly because there were so many pigs and so many -dogs. It was not that these creatures did not work, after their fashion. -There was, as Squealer was never tired of explaining, endless work in the -supervision and organisation of the farm. Much of this work was of a kind -that the other animals were too ignorant to understand. For example, -Squealer told them that the pigs had to expend enormous labours every day -upon mysterious things called "files," "reports," "minutes," and -"memoranda". These were large sheets of paper which had to be closely -covered with writing, and as soon as they were so covered, they were burnt -in the furnace. This was of the highest importance for the welfare of the -farm, Squealer said. But still, neither pigs nor dogs produced any food by -their own labour; and there were very many of them, and their appetites -were always good. - -As for the others, their life, so far as they knew, was as it had always -been. They were generally hungry, they slept on straw, they drank from the -pool, they laboured in the fields; in winter they were troubled by the -cold, and in summer by the flies. Sometimes the older ones among them -racked their dim memories and tried to determine whether in the early -days of the Rebellion, when Jones's expulsion was still recent, things had -been better or worse than now. They could not remember. There was nothing -with which they could compare their present lives: they had nothing to go -upon except Squealer's lists of figures, which invariably demonstrated -that everything was getting better and better. The animals found the -problem insoluble; in any case, they had little time for speculating on -such things now. Only old Benjamin professed to remember every detail of -his long life and to know that things never had been, nor ever could be -much better or much worse--hunger, hardship, and disappointment being, so -he said, the unalterable law of life. - -And yet the animals never gave up hope. More, they never lost, even for an -instant, their sense of honour and privilege in being members of Animal -Farm. They were still the only farm in the whole county--in all -England!--owned and operated by animals. Not one of them, not even the -youngest, not even the newcomers who had been brought from farms ten or -twenty miles away, ever ceased to marvel at that. And when they heard the -gun booming and saw the green flag fluttering at the masthead, their -hearts swelled with imperishable pride, and the talk turned always towards -the old heroic days, the expulsion of Jones, the writing of the Seven -Commandments, the great battles in which the human invaders had been -defeated. None of the old dreams had been abandoned. The Republic of the -Animals which Major had foretold, when the green fields of England should -be untrodden by human feet, was still believed in. Some day it was coming: -it might not be soon, it might not be with in the lifetime of any animal -now living, but still it was coming. Even the tune of 'Beasts of England' -was perhaps hummed secretly here and there: at any rate, it was a fact -that every animal on the farm knew it, though no one would have dared to -sing it aloud. It might be that their lives were hard and that not all of -their hopes had been fulfilled; but they were conscious that they were not -as other animals. If they went hungry, it was not from feeding tyrannical -human beings; if they worked hard, at least they worked for themselves. -No creature among them went upon two legs. No creature called any other -creature "Master." All animals were equal. - -One day in early summer Squealer ordered the sheep to follow him, and led -them out to a piece of waste ground at the other end of the farm, which -had become overgrown with birch saplings. The sheep spent the whole day -there browsing at the leaves under Squealer's supervision. In the evening -he returned to the farmhouse himself, but, as it was warm weather, told -the sheep to stay where they were. It ended by their remaining there for a -whole week, during which time the other animals saw nothing of them. -Squealer was with them for the greater part of every day. He was, he said, -teaching them to sing a new song, for which privacy was needed. - -It was just after the sheep had returned, on a pleasant evening when the -animals had finished work and were making their way back to the farm -buildings, that the terrified neighing of a horse sounded from the yard. -Startled, the animals stopped in their tracks. It was Clover's voice. She -neighed again, and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed into the -yard. Then they saw what Clover had seen. - -It was a pig walking on his hind legs. - -Yes, it was Squealer. A little awkwardly, as though not quite used to -supporting his considerable bulk in that position, but with perfect -balance, he was strolling across the yard. And a moment later, out from -the door of the farmhouse came a long file of pigs, all walking on their -hind legs. Some did it better than others, one or two were even a trifle -unsteady and looked as though they would have liked the support of a -stick, but every one of them made his way right round the yard -successfully. And finally there was a tremendous baying of dogs and a -shrill crowing from the black cockerel, and out came Napoleon himself, -majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with -his dogs gambolling round him. - -He carried a whip in his trotter. - -There was a deadly silence. Amazed, terrified, huddling together, the -animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. It was -as though the world had turned upside-down. Then there came a moment when -the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything-in spite of -their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, -of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened--they -might have uttered some word of protest. But just at that moment, as -though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of-- - -"Four legs good, two legs BETTER! Four legs good, two legs BETTER! Four -legs good, two legs BETTER!" - -It went on for five minutes without stopping. And by the time the sheep -had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed, for the pigs -had marched back into the farmhouse. - -Benjamin felt a nose nuzzling at his shoulder. He looked round. It was -Clover. Her old eyes looked dimmer than ever. Without saying anything, she -tugged gently at his mane and led him round to the end of the big barn, -where the Seven Commandments were written. For a minute or two they stood -gazing at the tatted wall with its white lettering. - -"My sight is failing," she said finally. "Even when I was young I could -not have read what was written there. But it appears to me that that wall -looks different. Are the Seven Commandments the same as they used to be, -Benjamin?" - -For once Benjamin consented to break his rule, and he read out to her what -was written on the wall. There was nothing there now except a single -Commandment. It ran: - -ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL -BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS - -After that it did not seem strange when next day the pigs who were -supervising the work of the farm all carried whips in their trotters. It -did not seem strange to learn that the pigs had bought themselves a -wireless set, were arranging to install a telephone, and had taken out -subscriptions to 'John Bull', 'Tit-Bits', and the 'Daily Mirror'. It did -not seem strange when Napoleon was seen strolling in the farmhouse garden -with a pipe in his mouth--no, not even when the pigs took Mr. Jones's -clothes out of the wardrobes and put them on, Napoleon himself appearing -in a black coat, ratcatcher breeches, and leather leggings, while his -favourite sow appeared in the watered silk dress which Mrs. Jones had been -used to wearing on Sundays. - -A week later, in the afternoon, a number of dog-carts drove up to the farm. -A deputation of neighbouring farmers had been invited to make a tour of -inspection. They were shown all over the farm, and expressed great -admiration for everything they saw, especially the windmill. The animals -were weeding the turnip field. They worked diligently hardly raising their -faces from the ground, and not knowing whether to be more frightened of -the pigs or of the human visitors. - -That evening loud laughter and bursts of singing came from the farmhouse. -And suddenly, at the sound of the mingled voices, the animals were -stricken with curiosity. What could be happening in there, now that for -the first time animals and human beings were meeting on terms of equality? -With one accord they began to creep as quietly as possible into the -farmhouse garden. - -At the gate they paused, half frightened to go on but Clover led the way -in. They tiptoed up to the house, and such animals as were tall enough -peered in at the dining-room window. There, round the long table, sat half -a dozen farmers and half a dozen of the more eminent pigs, Napoleon -himself occupying the seat of honour at the head of the table. The pigs -appeared completely at ease in their chairs. The company had been enjoying -a game of cards but had broken off for the moment, evidently in order to -drink a toast. A large jug was circulating, and the mugs were being -refilled with beer. No one noticed the wondering faces of the animals that -gazed in at the window. - -Mr. Pilkington, of Foxwood, had stood up, his mug in his hand. In a -moment, he said, he would ask the present company to drink a toast. But -before doing so, there were a few words that he felt it incumbent upon him -to say. - -It was a source of great satisfaction to him, he said--and, he was sure, -to all others present--to feel that a long period of mistrust and -misunderstanding had now come to an end. There had been a time--not that -he, or any of the present company, had shared such sentiments--but there -had been a time when the respected proprietors of Animal Farm had been -regarded, he would not say with hostility, but perhaps with a certain -measure of misgiving, by their human neighbours. Unfortunate incidents had -occurred, mistaken ideas had been current. It had been felt that the -existence of a farm owned and operated by pigs was somehow abnormal and -was liable to have an unsettling effect in the neighbourhood. Too many -farmers had assumed, without due enquiry, that on such a farm a spirit of -licence and indiscipline would prevail. They had been nervous about the -effects upon their own animals, or even upon their human employees. But -all such doubts were now dispelled. Today he and his friends had visited -Animal Farm and inspected every inch of it with their own eyes, and what -did they find? Not only the most up-to-date methods, but a discipline and -an orderliness which should be an example to all farmers everywhere. He -believed that he was right in saying that the lower animals on Animal Farm -did more work and received less food than any animals in the county. -Indeed, he and his fellow-visitors today had observed many features which -they intended to introduce on their own farms immediately. - -He would end his remarks, he said, by emphasising once again the friendly -feelings that subsisted, and ought to subsist, between Animal Farm and its -neighbours. Between pigs and human beings there was not, and there need -not be, any clash of interests whatever. Their struggles and their -difficulties were one. Was not the labour problem the same everywhere? -Here it became apparent that Mr. Pilkington was about to spring some -carefully prepared witticism on the company, but for a moment he was too -overcome by amusement to be able to utter it. After much choking, during -which his various chins turned purple, he managed to get it out: "If you -have your lower animals to contend with," he said, "we have our lower -classes!" This BON MOT set the table in a roar; and Mr. Pilkington once -again congratulated the pigs on the low rations, the long working hours, -and the general absence of pampering which he had observed on Animal Farm. - -And now, he said finally, he would ask the company to rise to their feet -and make certain that their glasses were full. "Gentlemen," concluded -Mr. Pilkington, "gentlemen, I give you a toast: To the prosperity of -Animal Farm!" - -There was enthusiastic cheering and stamping of feet. Napoleon was so -gratified that he left his place and came round the table to clink his -mug against Mr. Pilkington's before emptying it. When the cheering had -died down, Napoleon, who had remained on his feet, intimated that he too -had a few words to say. - -Like all of Napoleon's speeches, it was short and to the point. He too, -he said, was happy that the period of misunderstanding was at an end. For -a long time there had been rumours--circulated, he had reason to think, -by some malignant enemy--that there was something subversive and even -revolutionary in the outlook of himself and his colleagues. They had been -credited with attempting to stir up rebellion among the animals on -neighbouring farms. Nothing could be further from the truth! Their sole -wish, now and in the past, was to live at peace and in normal business -relations with their neighbours. This farm which he had the honour to -control, he added, was a co-operative enterprise. The title-deeds, which -were in his own possession, were owned by the pigs jointly. - -He did not believe, he said, that any of the old suspicions still -lingered, but certain changes had been made recently in the routine of the -farm which should have the effect of promoting confidence still further. -Hitherto the animals on the farm had had a rather foolish custom of -addressing one another as "Comrade." This was to be suppressed. There had -also been a very strange custom, whose origin was unknown, of marching -every Sunday morning past a boar's skull which was nailed to a post in the -garden. This, too, would be suppressed, and the skull had already been -buried. His visitors might have observed, too, the green flag which flew -from the masthead. If so, they would perhaps have noted that the white -hoof and horn with which it had previously been marked had now been -removed. It would be a plain green flag from now onwards. - -He had only one criticism, he said, to make of Mr. Pilkington's excellent -and neighbourly speech. Mr. Pilkington had referred throughout to -"Animal Farm." He could not of course know--for he, Napoleon, was only -now for the first time announcing it--that the name "Animal Farm" -had been abolished. Henceforward the farm was to be known as "The Manor -Farm"--which, he believed, was its correct and original name. - -"Gentlemen," concluded Napoleon, "I will give you the same toast as -before, but in a different form. Fill your glasses to the brim. Gentlemen, -here is my toast: To the prosperity of The Manor Farm!" - -There was the same hearty cheering as before, and the mugs were emptied to -the dregs. But as the animals outside gazed at the scene, it seemed to -them that some strange thing was happening. What was it that had altered -in the faces of the pigs? Clover's old dim eyes flitted from one face to -another. Some of them had five chins, some had four, some had three. But -what was it that seemed to be melting and changing? Then, the applause -having come to an end, the company took up their cards and continued the -game that had been interrupted, and the animals crept silently away. - -But they had not gone twenty yards when they stopped short. An uproar of -voices was coming from the farmhouse. They rushed back and looked through -the window again. Yes, a violent quarrel was in progress. There were -shoutings, bangings on the table, sharp suspicious glances, furious -denials. The source of the trouble appeared to be that Napoleon and -Mr. Pilkington had each played an ace of spades simultaneously. - -Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, -now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside -looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; -but already it was impossible to say which was which. +Following text is added for stability: -- cgit v1.2.3