《动物庄园》（英汉双语版 套装2本）(与《1984》齐名的反乌托邦文学代表作) (最新经典权威译本)
Author: 乔治·奥威尔
Date: 2014-01-01
Publisher: 北方文艺出版社

版权

动物庄园：汉英对照/（英）奥威尔（Orwell,G.）著；王臣译.—哈尔滨：北方文艺出版社，2013.11

ISBN 978-7-5317-3196-2

Ⅰ.动… Ⅱ.奥…  王… Ⅲ.英语-汉语-对照读物 长篇小说-英国-现代 Ⅳ.H319.4：I

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字(2013)第259403号

动物庄园（英汉双语版）

作者/（英）乔治·奥威尔

译者/王臣

责任编辑/王金秋

本书策划/李异鸣 杨肖

封面设计/韦木

出版发行/北方文艺出版社

地址/哈尔滨市道里区经纬街26号

网址/http：//www.bfwy.com

邮编/150010

电子邮箱/bfwy@bfwy.com

目录

版权

第一章

第二章

第三章

第四章

第五章

第六章

第七章

第八章

第九章

第十章

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

第一章

故事发生在曼纳庄园的一个平常夜晚里。庄园的主人琼斯先生，拖着醉醺醺的身体，只锁好了鸡棚，却忘记了关好那些里面的小门。他颤颤巍巍地提着摇曳的马灯，穿过漆黑的庭院。走进后门，机械地甩掉了臭皮靴，拿起洗碗间的酒桶里的最后一杯啤酒，一饮而尽。这才终于摸进卧房，倒在了鼾声雷动的琼斯夫人身旁。

当卧室陷入黑暗的一瞬间，立刻有一阵扑棱棱的声音响彻在庄园的上空。在白天里，这件事就在庄园里传得沸沸扬扬，就是那头获得“中级白鬃毛”奖荣誉的公猪老少校，决定把自己前一天夜里做的一个奇异的梦，讲给其他的动物听。

大家商量着，当琼斯先生把自己灌醉绝对不会再来谷仓的时候，就立刻集合所有的动物到大谷仓内。老少校（虽然当年他获奖的时候用的是“威灵顿帅哥”这个名字，但是大家习惯这么叫他）一直是庄园里最受尊敬的动物，所以能够听他讲事情，即使失去一个小时的睡眠时间，大家还是满心欢喜的。

少校早已安坐在大谷仓隆起的台子上，在他头顶上方，一盏马灯从房梁上垂下，身底的垫子下铺着厚厚的干草。他已经十二岁了，虽然最近微微发福，但依然是一只仪表英俊的猪。不要去在意他从来没有长出犬牙来，他依然呈现出一副慈爱聪慧的智者模样。很快，其他的动物陆陆续续地走进谷仓，根据自己不同的喜好坐下来。首先是三条分别叫作“蓝铃铛”“杰西”和“钳子”的狗进场，马上台子前面的稻草上就被几头猪给占领了。窗台上母鸡们咕咕叫着，房梁上鸽子们扑腾着翅膀。羊和牛悄悄地躺在猪的身后，开始了今天的反刍。拳师和苜蓿是拉两轮货车的两匹马，他们并肩走进来，茸毛包裹的马蹄总是轻轻稳稳地落下每一步，好像生怕踩到藏匿在干草堆里的一些小动物。苜蓿是一只中年母马，健壮而又温婉，在经历过四次生育之后，就再也无法恢复往昔的体态形貌。拳师则是高大威猛，将近六英尺（1英尺=0.3048米，后同）高的个头，结实得赛过两匹普通的马。但是，那道从鼻梁生出来的白毛，给他的威猛打了折扣，看上去有少许傻气。他的确没有异于常人的高智商，但是他执着坚强的性格和吃苦耐劳的工作表现，获得了庄园里的普遍赞誉。紧接着，山羊穆尔丽和被称为本杰明的驴子也出现了。本杰明是庄园里年岁最大的动物，性格乖戾，总是缄默不语，一旦他要发表言论，总是说些不温不火的奇谈怪论。例如，他总说尽管上帝赐给他尾巴是为了驱赶该死的苍蝇，但是他宁愿两者都不要。他是庄园里最严肃、最不知道分享欢乐的动物。一旦有人追究他冷漠的原因，他会一本正经地说没有什么新奇引起激动的事情。但是，大家都能看得出来，唯一令他佩服和尊敬的就是拳师。你总会在星期天，看到他们两个在果园远处的一片牧场上，默默不语地并肩吃着青草。

让我们言归正传。当拳师和苜蓿刚刚趴下的时候，一群没有妈妈的小鸭子呼呼啦啦地进了大谷仓，一边无力地叫，一边左看右看地想要找一个不被踩踏的地方。很快他们发现了一个好地方，那就是苜蓿那犹如一堵墙一样的前腿所围成的一小块安身之所，于是他们就依偎在苜蓿给他们制造的这一小块天地里进入了梦乡。就在会议快要开始时又进来一匹白母马，虽然漂亮但是却很愚蠢，她就是给琼斯先生拉双轮轻便车的莫丽。只见她嘴里嚼着一块方糖，一摇一摆娇滴滴地走进来，找了个靠前的位置，刚站好就开始试图通过抖动她白色的鬃毛把大家的眼光吸引到那些扎在鬃毛上的红丝带上。最后一个来的是猫，她硬是挤进了拳师和苜蓿的中间，她对这个热乎的地方很是满意，因为在少校演说时她根本一个字都没听进去，只在那里兀自发出咕噜咕噜的声音。

少校看了看，发现除了那只驯化了的乌鸦摩西（此刻他正在庄主院后门背后的横木架上睡觉），所有的动物都到场了，并且都全神贯注地等着他发言，于是他清了清嗓子开始说：

“同志们，我想我昨晚做了个怪梦的事情你们已经都听说了。但是，我们暂且不说那个梦，让我给你们讲点别的。同志们，很遗憾，恐怕我的时日不长了。在我去世之前，我想把我所获得的智慧传于你们，我认为这是我自己应该尽的义务。我想要给你们讲的是什么呢？我能够说的是什么呢？是我用我漫长的一生，花了大量的躺在圈里的时间去沉思，最终参悟出一个哲理——那就是活在世上本应该是什么样的。

“同志们，我们应该正视这个问题，直到如今我们是怎么生活的？让我们看看这个显而易见的事实：从我们出生开始，仅仅能得到勉强维持生活的食物，吃不饱还要被强迫着去干活，直到最后把气力消耗殆尽。当我们一失去使用价值，我们就会被残忍地杀掉。在英格兰，没有动物是有自由的，我们在满周岁后何曾享受过幸福或休闲？我们动物的这一生是多么凄惨、短促和备受奴役啊！

“难道我们这凄惨的一生是上天注定的吗？难道所有居住在这里的我们的兄弟姐妹不能过上体面的生活是因为英格兰是穷山恶水的地方吗？不！完全不！我们这里是物产丰富的地方，有肥沃的地，宜人的气候，能够养活比现在要多得多的生物。单单我们生活的这个庄园，就足以将十二匹马、二十头牛和数百只羊养活得令我们无法想象的舒适和体面呢。然而看看我们现在为什么却过着这种惨兮兮的日子？同志们，你们想过罪魁祸首是谁吗？是人啊！他们把我们所有的劳动成果窃取了，是他们导致了我们的饥饿和过度劳累，人才是我们过不上好日子的真正仇敌。

“在所有的生灵当中，只有人类不劳而获，他们没有产奶的技能，也没有下蛋的本事，拉不动犁吧，跑得比兔子还慢。然而，那些没用的人类却是所有动物的主人，他榨取我们的绝大部分劳动所得，回报我们的却仅仅是能填饱肚子。我们辛勤地耕耘着，就连粪便也奉献给了这片土地，可是我们得到的除去身上的这张皮就一无所有啦。你们，对，就是我面前的奶牛们，你们去年整整一年产的奶呢？那几千加仑的本可以哺育很多健壮的牛犊的奶去哪里了呢？它们一滴不剩地流进了我们仇敌的肚子里了。母鸡们，你们产的蛋呢？那么多的蛋有多少孵了小鸡？没孵化的蛋都去了市场为琼斯和他的伙计们换取了大把的钞票！还有你，可怜的苜蓿，你的那四个孩子呢，那本应是你晚年依靠的孩子去哪了呢？他们早在一岁的时候就被卖掉了。你四次分娩，一贯的勤劳苦干为你换回的只有勉强糊口的饲料和一间马厩，除此就别无所有啦！

“即便已经这样悲惨了，能得善终却也是一种奢望吧。我算是运气好的，我就不抱怨了。我过的12年算是猪合乎自然的生活，我有四百多个孩子了。但是我们终逃不掉那残忍的一刀。不要说我们猪的不到一年的短暂生命最后会在尖声惊叫中从木架上消失，你们牛、鸡、羊也难以逃脱这种恐怖的厄运。当然，马和狗不在例外里。拳师啊，你的肌肉有一天也会失去强健的力量，那时，琼斯就会把你卖给专门屠宰废马的贩子，宰完煮熟了喂猎狐犬。还有狗，琼斯会等到他们老了，没有牙的时候在脖子上绑块砖沉到最近的池塘里。

“那么，你们明白了吗，同志们，我们的苦难就是人类的暴虐统治所造成的，这一点毋庸置疑！只有推翻了人类的统治，我们才会富足和自由，也许就在一夜之间。所以，我要告诉你们的就是：造反！同志们，这个目标一定要牢记，而且要一代一代传下去。我不知道会在什么时候造反，也许一周内，也许百年后，但是正是因为正义一定会得到伸张，这样正如我脚边的干稻草一样坚定不移的道理让我坚信，未来的动物们会前赴后继地完成这个理想。

“要牢记，人是永远不会考虑其他生灵的，他们只会为了自己的利益，我们决不能相信他们的谎言。什么人与动物有着共同的利益，什么人的兴盛就是动物的兴盛，那全是花言巧语。所有的动物，我们是同志，我们要建立纯粹的友谊，我们必须团结一致，与所有的人为敌。”

正在这时，几只狗看见了蹲坐在那儿听演讲的四只大如斗的老鼠，要不是他们及时地窜回洞里，恐怕性命难保，少校举起前蹄平息了这场骚动。

他接着说道：“同志们，这个意外就需要我们弄清楚一点，老鼠和兔子这种非家养的动物应该算在哪一列里？同志，还是仇敌？我们现在就通过大会来表决。”

除了三条狗和一只猫投了反对票，其他的动物都同意把老鼠作为同志。事后发现，猫既投了反对票也投了赞成票。少校继续说道：

“除此之外我只想再强调一下，对待人类及其他们的行为我们必须抱着不共戴天、他们必亡的信念，这是我们的重任。如何划分敌我我来定一下，两条腿行走的就是仇敌，四条腿或者长翅膀的就是我们的同志。我们须谨记一条，我们决不能效仿我们的仇敌，无论是反抗中还是成功后，他们的恶习我们坚决摒弃，因为那些习惯是邪恶的。他们的房间我们决不能住进去，我们不准睡床，不准穿衣喝酒和抽烟，并且从事交易和接触货币也是严令禁止的。哦，我们不能像人类一样残暴地对待我们自己，不论瘦弱还是强壮，不论聪明还是愚蠢，我们是同志，是兄弟，我们之间是平等的，我们要相亲相爱，不能相互屠杀。

“好了，现在该是我们讲讲我昨晚那个梦的时候了。与其说是梦，不如说是一个梦想，一个关于未来的，人类消亡之后的世界的梦想。那是无法用言语描述的一个梦啊。它让我想起了被我遗忘了很久的一些事情。那首歌，那首在我还是小猪时，母亲和其他母猪就会经常哼哼的老歌，虽然她们只会哼个曲调和头三句。那时候对这首老歌我就很熟悉了，即使后来忘记了，但是昨晚的梦让我立刻就想了起来。更妙的是，梦中连歌词都出来了。那是失传了很久的歌词，即使很久很久之前动物们经常唱。我年纪大了，嗓音也不好了，我现在把这首歌唱给你们听，等你们学会了，你们肯定能唱得比我好听，这首歌就叫《英格兰的畜牧》。”

老少校清了清嗓子，但出口的声音仍是很沙哑，即使嗓音不尽如人意，仍是唱得慷慨激昂，旋律有点介于《克莱门汀》和《拉酷酷拉恰》之间。歌词是这样的：

英格兰兽，爱尔兰兽，

普天之下的兽，

倾听我喜悦的佳音，

金色的未来里那可喜的佳音。

这一天终将会到来，

暴虐的人类终将消灭，

富饶的英格兰大地，

将只留下我们的足迹。

我们的鼻中不再扣环，

我们的背上不再配鞍，

橛子和马刺会永远锈蚀，

不再有残酷的鞭子噼啪作响。

那就连在梦中都难以出现的富裕生活，

小麦、大麦、干草、燕麦，

苜蓿、大豆还有甜菜，

那一天将全归我所有。

那一天我们将自由解放，

阳光普照英格兰大地，

水会更清纯，

风也更醉人。

哪怕我们活不到那一天，

但为了那一天我们岂能等闲，

牛、马、鹅、鸡，

为自由必须流血汗。

英格兰兽、爱尔兰兽，

普天之下的兽，

倾听我喜悦的佳音，

金色的未来里那可喜的佳音。

听着这激昂的歌唱，动物们进入了空前的亢奋状态，他们跟着老少校开始学唱，没一会儿，那些聪明一些的猪狗就把整首歌都学会了，就连最愚笨的动物都学会了些曲调和几句歌词。几番尝试下来，突然间歌声响彻整个庄园，惊人的一致，母牛哞哞叫，狗汪汪地吠，羊咩咩地配合，马的嘶鸣声和鸭子的嘎嘎声也恰到好处，动物们太激动了，以至于连着唱了五遍还没有停下来的意思。

但遗憾的是声音太大了，大到把琼斯先生给吵醒了。他以为是狐狸来光临农舍了，所以他跳下床，拿起放在卧室角落的那杆枪，对黑暗处放了一枪，于是这次聚会就在这枚6号子弹射进大谷仓的墙上后匆匆结束了。顷刻间整个庄园就鸦雀无声了，家畜卧倒在干草堆里，家禽跳上了栖木架。

第二章

在那聚会的三天后，老少校就安详地睡着了，那时正值三月初，他的遗体被埋在果园脚下。

在接下来的三个月之中，这种秘密聚会接二连三举行过几次。动物们一直在琢磨老少校的话，他的预言不知道什么时候能发生，在他们的有生之年是不是还能赶上造反，那种全新的生活观念已经渗进了那些有点头脑的动物中了。所以，他们开始准备，因为那好像是种义务。猪被认为是最聪明的动物，理所当然教育和组织其他动物的工作就落在了他们的身上，而其中两头公猪本是琼斯养着用来卖的，但却是最为优秀和卓越的，名叫雪球和拿破仑。拿破仑是庄园里仅有的一只伯克夏种猪，他长相凶狠、个头庞大，不择手段就是他惯用的手段。相比之下，雪球就没有他那么深的城府，但是很活跃，伶牙俐齿，点子也多。还有一只很显眼的胖猪，脸胖得鼓鼓的，眼珠子骨碌骨碌的，名叫声响器，因为他善于演说，所以在动物中名声很大，别的动物都说他的话啊，能把黑白都颠倒了。他的动作灵巧，声音尖细，尤其在论证某些难以讲解清楚的论点时，他就会一边摆着尾巴，然后边讲解边来回地蹦个不停，这是一个不知为什么就令人信服的绝招。

这三头较为突出的猪认真仔细地研究了老少校的那一番话，把它加以整理，总结成为一套名为动物主义的思想体系。每周几次的秘密会议照常举行（当然是在琼斯先生睡了之后），主要就是向动物们传授这套思想体系。俗话说，万事开头难嘛，那三头猪没少费力气。起初，一些动物还是战战兢兢，改变不了那些传统的思想，他们还将琼斯先生当成主人，觉得对他还存在着可笑的忠诚的义务，同时他们还提出了一些非常幼稚的想法，比如“琼斯先生给我们饭吃，他要是走了，我们会不会饿死”，还有“如果这是我们死后的事，那和我们有什么关系？”或者“如果造反是一定会发生的，那我们关不关心，出不出力不是没有区别嘛”。

三头猪不厌其烦地向动物们解释说他们的那些愚蠢的想法是背离兽主义精神的。但是那头名叫莫丽的白母马着实愚蠢得让人头疼。她问雪球：“造反后，我还有糖吃吗？”

雪球不假思索地说：“那是不可能的，因为庄园里是无法制糖的，再说了，到时候你会拥有更多的燕麦和草料，那时你就会把糖忘得干干净净。”

“那这些丝带我还能继续扎在我的鬃毛上吗？”莫丽又问。

“这是奴隶的象征啊，难道你还想继续被奴役吗？自由是最有价值的，这点你好好思考一下吧。”

雪球盯着莫丽说完后，莫丽犹豫着表示同意，她还是没想明白，她觉得那番说辞貌似并不能让她完全赞同。

乌鸦摩西，那是个令人讨厌的家伙。因为摩西是琼斯喜欢的宠物，他喜欢散布谣言，搬弄是非，还不劳动，这是让动物们生厌的主要原因。摩西声称有一个叫蜜饯山的地方，那里每周七天都是周日，一年都有新鲜的苜蓿，方糖和亚麻子饼就长在树篱上，那么美好而神秘的地方就在天空中云层上面的不远的某处。尽管讨厌摩西，但是一些动物还是相信他的话，认为那是动物们死后的归宿。猪们费尽口舌，他们必须让这些愚蠢的动物明白世界上是不可能有那样的地方的。

拳师和苜蓿无疑是最忠诚的，猪们一直是这么认为的，因为以马的智商想要弄明白任何问题都不太可能，他们是一根筋的动物，既然认定猪是老师，那么凡是猪教的道理，他们就理解吸收，并且还会稍加论证传达给其他动物。大谷仓的集会他俩从不缺席，临近结束时唱的《英格兰兽》也会由他俩起头。

造反就在大家觉得还没准备好的时候开始了，并且一次成功了。话说那段时间琼斯先生时运不佳，因为一场官司赔了钱，郁郁寡欢，拼命酗酒，整天待在厨房，靠在他那把温莎靠椅上懒懒地坐着，除了看报纸，喝酒，就是偶尔喂摩西一点被啤酒泡了的干面包片。琼斯的萎靡连带着他的伙计们也游手好闲，造成了田地长满野草，窝棚顶失修漏雨，篱笆无人修剪，动物们食不果腹。其实之前的琼斯先生虽然刻薄，但是很能干，算得上是一个称职的农场主。

也许琼斯想不到，他的变化让一个新时代有了崛起的机会。那天是六月底的一个星期六，在施洗约翰节（6月24日）的前夕，本是收割牧草的时节，但是琼斯先生却在威灵登的红狮子酒吧喝得烂醉，第二天中午才回家。因为他不在家，他的伙计们根本不会尽心工作，早早挤完奶就跑出去打野兔了，完全忘记了给动物们添加草料。琼斯先生根本没有心情管庄园里的任何事，他一回来就躺在沙发上，把一张《世界新闻报》盖在脸上开始睡觉，直到天黑。动物们饿得实在是忍不住了，一头母牛率先用角顶开了饲料棚的门，于是所有的动物蜂拥地挤进去开始抢食食物。刚醒的琼斯先生本能地和他的四个伙计拿着鞭子赶到饲料棚对动物们进行抽打。动物们忍无可忍了，即便没有事先商量，他们惊人一致地朝虐待他们的人类冲去。他们用角顶，用蹄踢，不一会儿局面就扭转了。琼斯他们哪曾见过这样的阵势，他们一直认为动物们是可以随意鞭打和虐待的，现在他们被吓得六神无主，除了逃跑，他们已经想不到其他办法了。他们五个沿着通往大路的车道拼命地奔跑，后面的动物们乘胜追击。

这庄园的另一个主人，琼斯夫人通过卧室的窗子将刚才的一切尽收眼底，她匆匆忙忙地将一些细软收拾到一个毛毡手提包里，从另一个通道溜出了庄园，乌鸦摩西还是个恋主的家伙，从木架子上蹿起来，拍打着翅膀，呱呱乱叫着追随琼斯夫人。随着关上大门的那“砰”的一声，造反就正式成功了，虽然他们还没有完全回过神来。他们拴上了五道门闩后就意味着，琼斯被驱逐了，曼纳庄园完全由他们说了算了。

他们或许还是不相信自己成功了，直到他们兴奋地沿着庄园的地界奔跑了一圈，确认了在庄园里是真的没有人类存在了。接着，他们马上回到窝棚中，销毁了一切有关人类文明的东西，他们撞开了马厩尽头的那间农具棚，将里面的嚼子、鼻环、狗链，以及用来阉割猪马牛羊的刀子统统扔进了井里。同时，将缰绳、笼头、眼罩还有有损尊严的吊在马嘴下的饲料袋同其他的垃圾一起焚烧了，当然不会少了那让所有动物都感到屈辱的鞭子。火堆噼啪作响，动物们欢呼雀跃。

“饰带，是人类的标志，如同衣服一样，所有的动物都要与人区别开来，我们应该赤身裸体。”说完，雪球就把饰带扔进了火堆。

拳师听完雪球的话，便把他夏天戴的那顶草帽拿出来，这顶草帽本是防止虫蝇钻入耳朵的，他把它和其他一些东西一起扔进了火堆里。

就这样没用多长时间，关于琼斯先生的东西，凡是动物们能想起来的，就全部被销毁了。接下来，动物们回到饲料棚，拿破仑给他们发了双份的饲料，给狗发了双份的饼干。他们在睡前将《英格兰兽》完完整整高歌了七遍，之后安安稳稳地睡了一夜，这样的睡眠是他们从来不曾有过的。

他们习惯性地在黎明时醒来，但转而想起了昨天发生的事情，昨天的壮举立刻使他们兴奋起来，他们全都跑出了窝棚，奔着大牧场就去了，在通往牧场的路上有一个小山包，动物们冲到顶上，在清新的晨曦中注视着大半个庄园，景色一览无余啊。是的，这是他们的——凡是他们目光所能到达的地方都是属于他们的了。这样的念头一发芽，他们就止不住狂喜，他们蹦啊，跳啊，压抑不住极度的兴奋，他们猛地蹿到空中。他们在露珠上打滚，咀嚼着鲜美的牧草，踢起一块块黝黑的田土，使劲嗅着泥块中浓郁的香味。然后，他们逛了整个庄园一周，在无声的赞美中巡视了耕地、牧场、果树园、池塘和树丛，好似是头一次见这些东西般。并且，直到此刻，他们还是无法相信这些完全是他们的了。

后来，他们列队向庄园的窝棚走去，却在琼斯的房子外静静地站住了，这已经不属于琼斯了，是他们的了，但是他们还是惶恐地不敢进去。好一会儿，还是雪球和拿破仑带头用肩撞开了门，动物们才全部涌进了房子，他们小心翼翼地走着，生怕把什么弄乱了。他们踮着蹄子尖一间房一间房地查看，个个缄口结舌，出于一种敬畏，聚精会神地盯着这些难以置信的奢华，盯着镜子、马鬃沙发和那些人类用过的羽绒填充的被褥，还有布鲁塞尔地毯，以及放在客厅里的壁炉架子上的维多利亚女王的石印肖像。他们看得差不多了就走下了楼梯，转身却并没有找到莫丽，返回去楼上，才发现她还在一间最好的卧室里，拿着一条原是琼斯夫人梳妆台上的蓝色丝带，对着镜子傻呵呵地臭美。在大家的严词厉色下，她才不情愿地走了出去。挂在厨房里的火腿都拿去埋了，搁在洗碗室的啤酒桶也让拳师给踢了个洞。除此之外，房间的其他东西倒是没有动。一项决议马上就在这通过了，大家一致同意把这间农场主的住房保存起来作为博物馆，任何动物都不得进去居住。

早餐后，雪球和拿破仑再次把大家召集起来。

“同志们，”雪球说，“现在是六点半，长长的一天才刚刚开始，所以今天我们要开始收割牧草。不过，还有另外一件事要先商量一下。”

这时，大家才知道在过去的三个月，猪们在垃圾堆里翻出了一本琼斯孩子们用过的书，他们从那本书上学习了阅读和书写。拿破仑要来几桶黑漆和白漆，带着大伙来到面向大路的五闩大门。接着，雪球开始了他擅长的活，只见他用蹄子的两个趾夹起了刷子，蘸了白漆将门顶木牌上的“曼纳庄园”涂掉，又蘸了黑漆在那上面写上了“动物庄园”。庄园的名字就此而定了。写完后，大家伙回到窝棚那里，雪球和拿破仑向他们解释道，过去的三个月，经过他们的深思熟虑，他们把动物主义简练地概括为“七诫”，这是动物们必须遵守的法律，庄园里所有的动物都必须遵循它生活，“七诫”就写在大谷仓的墙上。说完，雪球就开始费力地爬之前拿过来的梯子，因为猪在梯子上可不好把握平衡，所以，费了好大劲雪球才爬上去，声响器提着油漆桶站在稍低几格的地方配合，雪球拿着大刷子在涂过柏油的墙上，用无比巨大的三十码外就能看见的白色字母书写“七诫”，内容如下：

七诫

1.凡靠两条腿行走者皆为仇敌；

2.凡靠四肢行走者，或者长翅膀者，皆为朋友；

3.任何动物不得着衣；

4.任何动物不得睡床；

5.任何动物不得饮酒；

6.任何动物不得杀害其他动物；

7.所有动物一律平等。

巨大的字迹中透着潇洒，除了把朋友“friend”写成了“freind”，还有其中一个“S”写反了外，其余都是准确无误的。写完后，雪球负责给动物们大声地朗读了一遍，其间动物们频频点头表示完全赞同，较为聪明的一些动物立刻开始背诵了。

“此刻，同志们，”雪球扔下刷子喊道，“到牧场去，我们要争口气，我们要争取比琼斯他们人类更快地收完牧草。”

这时，早就不自在好一会儿的三头母牛开始哞哞地大叫，原来已经有二十四小时没有人挤她们的奶了，她们的奶子快要胀破了。猪稍加思考，就命部下拿来奶桶，成功地给母牛们挤了奶，他们的蹄子干这个活还挺适合的。很快，五个桶就都装满了漂着乳沫的牛奶，很多动物饶有兴趣地看着这些奶桶里的奶。

“怎样处理它们呢？”一个动物提了出来。

一只母鸡接着说：“以前琼斯先生会在我们的饲料中掺一些牛奶的。”

但是站在奶桶边的拿破仑马上打断了大家的谈话，他说：“同志们，我们当务之急是收割牧草，牛奶先放在一边，会被妥善处理的。你们现在马上跟着雪球同志去收割牧草，我随后就到，前进，同志们！牧草等着你们呢！”

于是，响应号召的动物们成群结队地走向牧场，开始了一天的劳动。当他们晚上收割回来后，发现牛奶已经不见了影踪。

第三章

动物们这次真是干劲十足，流了大把的汗水，终于换回了大丰收，这次收获的牧草比他们预计的要多得多。

其实，动物们在干活中遇到了不少难题，干起来也是费力的，因为那些工具是为人设计的，动物们最大的劣势就是不能两条腿站立操作那些工具。不过，猪们总是有办法，即便他们实际上并不干活，只是负责指挥和监督，算起来他们算是学识最出众的，所以理所应当地被所有动物认作了领导。马呢，因为常年在这片土地上劳作，对这里的一尺一寸都是熟悉的，其实说起对于割草和耕地的精通程度，琼斯和他的伙计是比不得的。所以，拳师和苜蓿非常自觉地套上了割草机和马拉耙机（是没有嚼子和缰绳的，因为已经焚毁了），他俩的步伐稳健，坚定地一圈一圈行进，猪跟在他俩后面，一边绕，一边嘴里吆喝着“驾，加油，朋友！”，一会儿又是“吁，停下，同志！”。其他的动物也没闲着，都参与到了搬运和堆积牧草的紧张工作中，就连鸡和鸭子也不辞辛劳地在太阳光的焦灼下用嘴衔起一小撮牧草来回地奔波。他们卖力地干活换回了大丰收，这是庄园从未曾有过的大丰收啊，并且比以前琼斯和他伙计们在的时候整整提前了两天。动物们都很自觉，没有偷吃一口，并且也没有落下一根草秆草叶，这全靠了眼尖的鸡和鸭子。

一整个夏天，庄园里的一切都井井有条，没有丝毫混乱。动物们过上了前所未有的幸福日子，这之前都不敢奢望啊，食物完全属于他们，为了自己的食物所以自己生产，并不是为了曾经主人的施舍，这让他们真真正正体验到当家做主的感觉，以前吃饭是为了活命，而现在的食物带给他们的则是享受。自从那次暴动成功，驱赶了琼斯那些寄生虫般的人，即便动物们没什么经验，但是也有了更多的食物和更多的时间休息。一切仿佛都是那么顺利，即便动物们遇到了很多麻烦，但是一件件地都迎刃而解。比如，下半年收完谷物，就要脱粒，但是庄园里没有脱粒机，于是那种最原始的方法被搬了出来，动物们齐上阵，把谷子揪下来，再用嘴把壳吹掉。对于这些困难出力最多的就是猪和拳师了，猪出的是脑力，拳师出的是体力。拳师一直都是勤劳勤奋的，即便是在琼斯时期也是如此，从不偷懒，现在更是卖力，一个顶仨。哪里工作最艰苦，哪里就有他的身影。有一段时间，基本上庄园里所有活都落在了拳师的肩上，从早到晚，他不停歇地推呀拉呀。为了能多干点活（不在他范围内的活），他早就跟一只小公鸡约定了，每天提前半小时叫醒他，他对所干的活唯一挑剔的就是必须看起来是最累最出力的，他的座右铭就定为了“我要更加努力工作”，这句话在每当遇见挫折和困难的时候就会被他念出来。

但是，每个动物都必须量力而行，比如鸡和鸭，他们单就是捡拾那些遗落的谷粒，就为大家增加了一百八十升的粮食。现在大家很团结，不会有人偷吃，该多少就多少，大家不会为了粮食份额争来争去，再也不见了以往的钩心斗角，争吵打斗。大家都勤勤恳恳，几乎没有动物偷懒，但是例外是不可避免的，莫丽就很不愿意早起，她还常常借故蹄子里夹了石头为由，扔下工作溜走了。猫也表现得与众不同，大家也渐渐发现，每当有活干的时候就不见了她的踪影，直到开饭或者大家收工后她才会若无其事地出现，但是她总有理由为自己辩解，咕噜咕噜说着貌似有理的原因，但偏就是真诚得让大家没办法怀疑她良好的动机。那头老驴本杰明对待这次造反的态度很不明朗，因为他在起义前后没有什么太大的变化，他一直是慢条斯理，本本分分干着属于自己的活，既不多干，也不少干，但从不旷工。也有多事的动物问本杰明是不是比以前好，但他没有正面回答，只是说：“驴子都是长寿的动物，你们谁见过死驴吗？”对于这神秘的答案，动物们也就作罢了。

星期天主要是休息的，不用干活，早餐也比平时晚一个小时，吃过早餐，就要完成一系列的仪式，而且每周如此。首先就是升旗，旗子是用琼斯夫人的旧的绿桌布做成的，是雪球从农具室翻出来的，他在上面用白漆画上了一只蹄子和一只犄角，之后这面旗就会在每个星期天早上在庄主院子内花园的旗杆上升起。对于旗子的含义，雪球是这样讲解的，绿色代表了整个英格兰田野，白色的蹄子和犄角象征了未来的动物共和国，这个共和国会在人类被彻底铲除后诞生。升旗之后，所有动物排着队依次进入大谷仓，参加名为碰头会的全体大会。会议的内容主要就是下一周的工作安排和关于各项提议的讨论和结果。猪是提案的主力军，其他的动物只有表决的份，但他们对这毫不介意。拿破仑和雪球总是最显眼的，但大家都瞧得出来，他俩不合，只要其中一个赞成什么，另外一个就反对什么。即便是已经通过的议案，他俩也会揪住其中的问题而争执不休，比如之前有个议案，是把果园后面的一小片牧场留给过了劳动年龄的动物们作为养老地，大家对这个方案都没有反对，但是在退休年龄上，双方又各执己见，激烈不已啊。会议的最后就是演唱那首《英格兰兽》。下午的时间留给大家自行娱乐。

农具室被猪指定为他们的指挥部，他们把里面的农具倒腾到了其他地方。每到晚上，他们就会来到这里，要么学习打铁，要么学习木工，或者其他生活中经常能用到的技艺，当然他们一定要参照琼斯留下来的那些书本。雪球一直在忙着组织他的“动物委员会”机构，对此他尽心尽力，尽管累得半死，但是依然乐此不疲。他之前为动物做过很多这样的事，但几乎都不幸地失败了，比如属于母鸡的“产蛋委员会”，属于牛的“清洁尾巴社”，有为羊发起的“羊毛增白运动”，还有专为驯化老鼠和野兔的“野生同志再教育委员会”。就如那个驯化野生动物的努力很快就被宣布是白费的，那些个野生动物的行为几乎没什么变化，要是对他们不计较的话，他们就明目张胆地钻空子。猫也参加了这个委员会，她倒是在这里找到了乐趣。有动物看见她曾经有一天站在窝棚顶与她够不着的一些麻雀聊天。她对麻雀们说，现在动物们都是同志了，所以，只要麻雀们愿意，就可以站到她的爪子上来，但是麻雀们却照样对她能离多远就离多远。

但是，有一个机构却带来了很大的效益，那就是读写班。到了秋风吹起的时候，庄园里的动物们都不同程度地有了点文化，至少不是文盲了。

读和写对于猪这种聪明的动物来说太容易了。狗对阅读掌握得也不错，但是他们只对“七诫”有兴趣。山羊穆尔丽跟狗比起来还略胜一筹，因为她时常在傍晚从垃圾堆里翻出报纸碎片念给其他动物听。驴子本杰明的阅读水平甚至可以和猪匹敌，但是他不以为意，他说还没有什么是值得阅读的。苜蓿学会了二十六个字母，但是却不会拼成单词。拳师只能记住A、B、C、D，他会用大蹄子在沙地上写完这四个字母，然后就会目不转睛，偶尔抖一下额毛，冥思苦想下一个字母，却怎么都想不起来。当然他也学过E、F、G、H，但是会了这几个，A、B、C、D却忘了。于是他最后决定就只记住前四个吧，为了能记得更牢，他每天都会写上一两遍。莫丽只会那五个能拼出她名字的字母Mollie，不是智商不够，是她根本不学其他的。她会用几根细嫩的树枝，很灵巧地把她的名字拼出来，然后再用几朵鲜花稍加装饰，再绕着走几圈，不住地赞叹。

庄园里的其他动物大都不能越过A字母。有些智商很低的动物就连“七诫”也记不住，比如羊、鸡和鸭子。鉴于这种情况，雪球经过反复研究，为这些动物量身定做了一句话——“四条腿好，两条腿坏”，这句话是从“七诫”里提炼出来的，它涵盖了兽主义的精髓，一旦掌握了它，人类的威胁就会被免除了。但是鸟类、家禽类就不愿意了，因为两条腿不好，他们只有两条腿，对于这，雪球给了他们一个看似合理的解释。

雪球说：“禽鸟们，你觉得你们只有两条腿吗？你觉得你们和人类没有区别吗？这种想法是错误的。你们的翅膀，是推进行进的器官，并不是用来操控的，所以它们的功能就是腿。而人类的手是作恶多端的器官。”

禽鸟们对于这番解释并不是很明白，但是他们还是接受了。于是，所有智商都不太够用的动物都一丝不苟地去记这个简单的新准则。这条新准则也被写在大谷仓的墙上，“七诫”的上面，甚至字要更大一些。绵羊们对这句短小精悍的准则无比上心，很快他们就记住了，以后每当他们躺在地上，就会连续不断地重复着“四条腿好，两条腿坏”，可以一叫就是几个小时，对此，他们从不觉得厌烦。

对于雪球做的这些建立委员会的工作，拿破仑不屑一顾。他觉得目前最重要的事情应该是对年轻一代的教育问题。赶巧的是收割牧草之后不久，杰西和蓝铃铛一共产下了九只健壮的小狗仔，这些小狗断奶的那天，拿破仑就把他们带走了，说是为了他们的教育，把他们带到了一间仅能用曾经放在农具室里的那架梯子爬上去的阁楼，方便他们与外界隔离，不出意外，庄园里的动物们很快就遗忘了这九只小狗的存在。

之前消失了的牛奶，原来是放进了猪每天的饲料里。果园里有很多早茬的苹果被吹落在了草坪上，动物们原本认为会分给大家享用，但是一条新指令击碎了他们天真的想法。指令要求凡是被吹落的苹果一定要收集起来，储藏在农具室里，供猪们食用。动物们对此很是不满，他们嘟嘟囔囔地抱怨，但是无济于事，奇怪的是，那两头凡事都是死对头的猪在这件事上竟然没有争执。声响器马上发挥他的特长，去向那些动物作些必要的解释。

“同志们，”声响器大声地叫道，“你们会觉得我们猪这么做是很自私，滥用权力吗？其实不是的，完全不是。你们千万不要这么想。其实啊，我们中有很多猪都是不喜欢吃苹果和牛奶的，比如我就很不喜欢。但是我们为什么要食用呢？那其实是为了保证我们的身体健康。科学研究表明，牛奶和苹果中含有对猪来说必不可少的营养物质。你们想啊，我们猪是从事脑力劳动的，庄园里的所有工作都需要我们去管理，去组织，我们没日没夜地为大家操劳，所以，为了不因缺乏营养而生病，为了不因生病而耽误工作，我们猪才去吃那些苹果，喝那些牛奶的。我们都是为了大家好，你们想，如果我们病倒了，将会发生多么严重的事啊，那个时候，琼斯一定会卷土重来的！一定会的！太可怕了！这是真的，同志们！”声响器用着他百试不厌的绝招，一边蹦来蹦去，一边摇头晃脑，用恳求的语气冲着动物们大声喊道，“我说的都是真的，想必你们也不愿意看到琼斯回来吧？”

一提到琼斯可能会因为这个卷土重来，动物们都不再反对了，因为大家实在是不想让那个事情真的发生，经过声响器这么一说，大家也就觉得让猪们保持健康是抵抗琼斯的必要条件。因此，大家一致同意了：牛奶和吹落的苹果（还包括成熟苹果中的绝大部分）应当作为猪们独享的食物。

第四章

到了夏天快要结束的时候，动物庄园的伟大壮举就被广为传唱了，至少大半个英格兰都知道了这些事。鸽子在信息传播中起了至关重要的作用，每天，拿破仑和雪球都会命令好几群鸽子去向附近的农场里的动物讲述造反的经过，并且教他们唱《英格兰兽》。

这段时期，琼斯先生很是郁闷啊，他花了大把的时间在威灵登的红狮子酒吧里，只要有人愿意听，他就向他们讲述他的冤屈——竟然被一群畜生撵出了自己的家园。

别的庄主起初仅仅是对琼斯表示同情，但是并没有给予实质性的帮助。因为他们都在心里打起了小算盘，想要为自己捞点好处。幸而，临近的两个庄园主的关系一直都很差。一个是面积很大的老式庄园，叫作福科斯伍德，但是庄园主皮尔金顿先生对这个庄园不怎么上心，他这个乡绅经常干的事不是打理农场，而是根据季节的变换或者钓鱼或者打猎，所以整个庄园的牧场基本荒芜了，树篱根本无人修剪，放眼望去满目萧瑟。另一个平彻菲尔德庄园与之相比虽然面积小了点，但是要整洁得多，这个庄园的主人叫弗雷德里克，是个奸诈不讲理的人，就因为锱铢必较已经身陷好几个官司了。这两个农场主谁也看不惯谁，双方就连在有共同利益的事情上都很难达成协议。

不过他俩倒是做了一件相同的事，那就是阻止隔壁庄园动物造反的消息传给自己庄园的动物，因为这事确实让他俩吓得不轻。起初知道这个消息的时候，他俩对动物们自己管理庄园的想法不屑一顾，觉得这场闹剧最多两个星期就会过去了。他俩四处散布谣言，内容是曼纳庄园（他们不能忍受动物庄园这个名字，依旧坚持称为曼纳庄园）里的动物们快要饿死了，为了争抢食物不停地打斗。然而一段时间过去了，那个庄园里的动物们显然没有饿死，这两个农场主不得不继续编造其他的谎话，说那里的动物们染上了可怕的邪气，他们吃同类的肉，用烧得通红的马蹄铁作为武器互相拷打折磨，还共同占有他们的雌性动物。两个农场主言之凿凿，这些就是造反带来的恶果。

然而，这样的传言是不被任何生物所相信的。另一个完全相悖的消息却广为流传：动物们建立了自己的动物庄园，他们赶走了人类，他们完全靠自己打理一切事务。虽然出现了不同版本，内容也不尽相同，但是主要宗旨是相同的。那一整年里，全国范围掀起了一股股大小不一的造反风波：一向温顺的公牛，突然就撒了野；羊糟蹋完苜蓿，还撞坏了树篱；母牛踢翻了奶桶；猎马奔跑到栅栏边突然停住从而把骑手成功地甩了出去。更让人不可思议的是，《英格兰兽》不论是调子还是歌词都以惊人的速度被广为传颂。人类虽然假装对这首歌表示轻蔑，但是怎么也掩饰不了他们的愤怒。他们说，他们不明白自己庄园里的动物怎么能如此堕落到去唱这种下流的歌。所以，但凡被发现唱这个歌的动物都会遭到一顿鞭打。尽管挨打也不能阻止这首歌被传唱，树篱上乌鸦从嘴里冒出的是《英格兰兽》，榆树上蹲着的鸽子发出的也是这个调子，铁匠铺里有这个调子，教堂的钟鸣里还有这个调子。人们仿佛被这个调子包围了，每当耳边响起这个调子，人们就不禁战栗，仿佛听到了他们即将要面临的厄运的预言。

时间很快到了十月，这时候谷子已经收割并且堆放好了，甚至一些已经脱了粒。一天，原本应该在外面的一群鸽子突然返回来，神色慌张都飞进了庄园的院子。之后很快就看见琼斯带着他的伙计们，还有五六个隔壁福科斯伍德庄园和平彻菲尔德庄园的人，闯进了五闩大门，沿着通向庄园的大道朝着庄园快步走来，他们人人手拿武器，琼斯拿了一支猎枪，其他人拿着棍棒，显而易见，他们是来夺回庄园的。

动物们异常冷静，因为他们早就料到了会有这一天，早就作好了完全的准备。雪球曾经在农场主的屋里翻出过一本描写凯撒大帝征战的旧书，算是军事战略系列吧，所以这次的指挥理所应当地落在雪球的肩上，只见他沉着地做出一个个决定，不出两分钟，动物们全部各就各位。

第一轮的攻击随着雪球的一声令下就开始了，此时这伙人刚刚接近庄园的窝棚。先是所有的鸽子飞到了这群人的头上，三五十只一起盘旋，从半空中一起拉屎。人们忙着躲避空袭，不料树篱后面突然冲出了一大群鹅，狠狠地啄他们的小腿肚子。人们握着手里的棍棒毫不费力地赶走了这群鹅，其实这只是战斗的前奏，目的就是让人类晕头转向。紧接着雪球带领动物发起了又一次的攻击，他率领着本杰明、穆尔丽和所有的羊冲进人群里，横冲直撞，对这伙突袭者又顶又戳，本杰明也使出了拿手招——尥蹶子。尽管动物们竭尽全力，这些手握凶器，连脚上也穿着带钉子的鞋的人还是让他们不容小觑。突然，动物们都听到了雪球发出了一声代表撤退的叫声，动物们很听话地掉头退回到院子里。

这些人类看到退回院子的动物，很自负地欢呼雀跃，于是他们没有经过思考就决定乘胜追击。这就是雪球给他们下的套。只见他们刚进到院子，之前藏匿在牛棚里的三匹马、三头牛，还有所有的猪就突然从他们身后冒了出来，顺便切断了他们所有的退路。伴随着雪球的又一声进攻信号，激烈的战斗正式打响，雪球带头身体力行地扑向琼斯，琼斯条件反射地举枪就射，子弹擦着雪球的背部飞过去，虽不致命，但是依旧在雪球的背上留下很深的几道血口子，不幸的是一头羊被射中毙命了。说时迟，那时快，雪球又撞了过去，两百多斤的身体仅仅碰了一下琼斯的腿，琼斯就倒在了一个粪堆上，猎枪很配合地也飞了出去。最惊心动魄的场景是拳师制造的，他就像一匹没被阉割过的成年种马，后腿发力撑起了整个身子，两只钉着铁掌的前蹄横扫一切，第一下就准确无误地击倒了来自福科斯伍德庄园的一个马夫，是打在了脑袋上，这个人倒在了泥坑里就不再动弹了。一看到有同伴没了气息，这些人吓坏了，忙不迭地扔掉棒子，转身就跑。但是深深的恐惧让他们丧失了方向感，所有的动物齐上阵，追着他们围着院子跑。这些人在混乱中被顶撞，撕咬，踢踹，踩踏，凡是动物们能使出来的招式他们全尝遍了，就连猫也不例外地从房顶上蹿下来，抓着一个放牛人的肩膀，用锋利的爪子狠狠地刺进他的脖子，放牛人疼得大声喊叫，声音透着凄惨的气息。就在他们快要绝望的时候，他们突然看到大门那里并没有动物，他们即刻抓住了这一丝生还的机会，夺路冲出院子，迅速朝着大路的方向狂奔，一路上伴着鹅群的啄咬，驱逐，终于成功地消失在了路尽头。就这样，为时不过五分钟的偷袭就在人类的败逃结局下结束了。

还有一个人类留在了院子里，就是之前被拳师打倒在地的马夫。回到院子，拳师用蹄子扒拉一下那个人，想把他翻过来，脸朝上，但是很失败。

拳师得出一个结论：“他死了。这不是我本意，我忘了我戴着马蹄铁了。你们相信我不是故意的吗？”

“这不是感性的时候，同志！”伤口还在流血的雪球大声说道，“战斗就是如此，只有死人才是好人。”

“但是我从没想过会杀生，对人依然如此。”拳师反复地重申，眼里还含着泪水。

不知是谁叫了一声：“莫丽怎么不见了？”

莫丽的确不知所踪。顿时，一种恐惧感油然而生，动物们开始担心是不是人类设计伤害了她，或者已经把她抢走了。结果大家却在她的马棚里找到了她，那时她正把头钻到了马槽里的草料中。原来刚才枪一响，她就躲了回来。刚才那个倒在泥坑里的马夫并没有死，而是晕倒了，他苏醒的时候动物们正在找莫丽，他就趁机溜掉了。

动物们重新聚集在院子里，战斗胜利带来的喜悦和兴奋使他们久久不能平静，每一个动物都扯着嗓子诉说自己刚刚在战斗中的表现。当下，他们就举办了一场庆功会。升起了代表动物庄园的旗帜，反复颂唱《英格兰兽》，接着为那只在战斗中牺牲的羊举行了庄重的葬礼，并在他的墓前栽种了一棵山楂树。雪球在葬礼上作了简短的讲话，意思主要是，动物们应该随时为庄园贡献自己的生命，在需要的时候。

在动物们的强烈提议下，他们决定设立军功勋章，“一级动物英雄”的勋章和称号当即授予了雪球和拳师，那是一枚铜质奖章（是在农具室里翻出来的很旧的装饰），被授权可在星期天和节假日里佩戴。还有一枚“二级动物英雄”勋章及称号被追认给了那只死去的羊。

大家纷纷为这次战争的称呼出谋划策，最后一致通过定为“牛棚战役”，因为就是在那里发动了至关重要的袭击。他们还找到了琼斯落下的枪，并且在原庄主的房子里翻出了备用的子弹。于是这杆枪有了新的用途，它被放在旗杆脚下作为礼炮，在两个纪念日里鸣枪，一个是十月十二日的牛棚战役纪念日，一个是施洗约翰节起义纪念日。

第五章

随着冬天不知不觉地到来，大家越来越不喜欢莫丽。不只是讨厌她总是在干活的时候来得最晚，还总是以睡过点作为借口，她还常常嘟囔一些奇怪的病痛。不过，这些并不影响她吃饭，一口都不会少吃。她经常以种种借口不干活，自己躲到饮水池边，呆呆地凝视着自己在水中的倒影。甚至还有一些传言比这更为严重的。有一天，莫丽一边晃着她的长尾巴，一边嚼着草根，慢悠悠地遛到院子里，苜蓿把她拉到一边。

“莫丽，”她说，“我要跟你说一件很严肃的事情。今天早上，在你查看我们庄园和福科斯伍德庄园隔着的那段树篱时，有一个皮尔金顿先生的手下就在树篱的那一边。尽管我离得远，但我还是看见他跟你说话了，他还抚摸了你的鼻子。出了什么事，莫丽？”

“不可能！他没有摸我！我也没让他摸！这是不可能发生的！”莫丽大声地反驳着，同时她的蹄子不安地扒拉着地上的土。

“莫丽！直视我，你敢用名誉保证，那个人没有摸过你的鼻子吗？”

“这不是真的！”莫丽反复说道，但是却不敢抬头看苜蓿。然后，她就朝着田野跑去了，显然是想逃避。

突然一个念头在苜蓿心中闪过。她没有和其他动物商量，立刻径直跑到莫丽的厩棚，在干草堆里翻了翻，很快，露出了一小堆方糖和几束各种颜色的饰带。

三天后，莫丽不见了，接连几个星期都下落不明。直到后来从几个鸽子口中才得到一点关于她的消息。鸽子说见到她的时候是在威灵登的另外一边酒吧外，当时她的身上正套着一辆红黑色的双轮马车。嘴里还吃着酒吧老板喂给她的方糖，鼻子还享受着酒吧老板的抚摸，酒吧老板是一个穿着格子马裤和高筒橡胶靴的红脸胖子。貌似她的毛发被修剪一新，一条鲜红的饰带作为装饰绑在她的额头上。鸽子们说莫丽对现状很是满意，脸上洋溢着骄傲。从那以后，动物们就再也没有提过莫丽。

很快到了一月份，天气很是恶劣。泥土冻得邦邦硬，地里的活都停了。但是大谷仓里的会议却比以往多了起来，猪们忙于筹划下一个季度的工作。大伙都已认同由动物们中智商最高的猪来决定庄园里的大政方针，即便他们的决策最后还是要在大多数同意的情况下才能执行。雪球和拿破仑还是一如既往地为所有的安排争吵，致使一切都不是很顺利。每一个能发生争执的地方，他俩都没错过。假如一个提出应该播种更大面积的麦子，另一个就一定要求用更大的面积播种燕麦；如果一个说某某地方非常适合种植卷心菜，那另一个肯定就说那里只是一块只能长活根茎作物的烂地。他俩的追随者旗鼓相当，一些激烈的辩论不可避免。在每周的例会上，雪球侃侃而谈，绝大多数动物都很赞同他的观点。而拿破仑擅长于利用会议的中间休息时间用游说的方式为自己拉票。绵羊对于这种方式尤为支持。在以后的不论何时何地，绵羊们都会经常高呼“四条腿好，两条腿坏”，故意在大会上捣乱。并且，大家渐渐发现，尤其在雪球发言的高潮阶段，更容易听见他们咩咩地叫喊“四条腿好，两条腿坏”。雪球曾经看过一些过了期的《农场主与畜牧业》杂志，当然是从农场主的屋里找到的，他对此进行了深入的钻研，学习使他的脑袋里有了很多的新点子和改革的设计。他一谈起农田排水，饲料保鲜还有碱性煤渣这些术语什么的，就滔滔不绝啊。此外，他还设计出了方便施肥的系统，这个系统很复杂，但是很方便，可以把动物们随时随地排放的粪便直接通到农田，省了再用马运输的劳力。拿破仑虽然没有实质性的贡献，但并不妨碍他继续跟雪球作对，他说雪球的这套方案听起来天花乱坠，但其实根本达不到最后的效果。看来，他是等着看雪球的好戏了。在他们俩所有的争吵中，最激烈的还数关于风车一事的争辩。

庄园里的窝棚距离那狭长的大牧场不远，大牧场那儿有一个能俯瞰整个庄园的小山包。雪球经过实地考察后得出结论，那是建造风车的绝佳之地。风车可以带动发电机，发电机发了电可以为整个农场供电。电可以为窝棚照明，也可以在天冷的时候用来取暖，还可以用在一切先进的电器上为生产带来方便，比如电锯、铡草机、切片机，还有电动挤奶器等等。动物们之前从没有听说过这些名词（因为这是一个有年头的庄园了，机械都是最原始的）。雪球绘声绘色地给动物描绘有了这些先进机器之后的生活场景，动物们很快就把自己想象进去了：他们只需要悠闲地在地里吃草，或者阅读谈天，做自己想做的事情，一边的机器可以帮他们干所有的活。

雪球在短短的几个星期中就拿出了风车的设计方案。原本属于琼斯先生的三本书：《实用家居一千条》《自己动手建房舍》和《电工入门》给了雪球很多机械设计方面的参考。曾经存放孵卵器的那间屋子现在是雪球的工作室，因为里面铺了木质地板，很光滑，很适合画图。他常常把自己关在那里，一干就是好几个小时。他把书本打开用石块压好，用蹄子上的两趾夹住粉笔，绘几下图，看一眼书，还会来回地走上两圈用于思考，偶尔发出些兴奋的哼唧声。整个设计图已经进入到最复杂的阶段，大量的曲柄和齿轮要错综复杂地连接到一起，大半个地板被图占据了，其他动物虽然看不明白，但是留给他们的印象还是很深刻的。动物们每天都来看雪球画的图，一天最少来一次。鸡和鸭也不例外，他们还很自觉地不去踩踏那些粉笔画的线。只有拿破仑从不关心雪球这边的进展，他甚至从来都没有来看过图。他最初就反对制造风车。出乎意料的是，一天拿破仑竟然来到雪球的办公室查看设计图。他肥胖笨重的身子在屋子里转过来绕过去，设计图上的每一处都被他看了个仔细，还用鼻子凑上去使劲地嗅了嗅，完了他眯着眼站在图边沉思了一下。突然就抬起后腿，在图上撒了泡尿，但是并没说什么就走了。

在风车这件事上庄园内部产生了严重的分歧。雪球从一开始就不否认风车是个大项目，制造起来会很麻烦的，要筑墙就得采石头，还需要制造风车的那个翼板，还得准备发电机和电缆（但是如何得到这些东西，雪球只字没提）。虽然面临诸多困难，雪球依然信心满满，他宣称不用一年就能建好风车，工程完成后就能给大家带来很多福利，肯定会节省大量的劳动力，这样，动物们只需每周工作三天就行了。对立面的拿破仑很快就反驳了，他认为现在最应该做的是多生产食物，如果把精力都放在制造风车上了，生产怎么办？食物不够，大家怎么活命？于是两个派别应景而生，一派打着的口号是“拥护雪球和每周三天工作日”，另一派的口号是“拥护拿破仑和食物满槽制”。唯一的中立者是本杰明，因为他谁的话也不信，他认为食料不会有量的增加，风车也不会像雪球说的那么神通广大，所以有还是没有，于他来说没有关系，日子继续像以往一样过，有不如意在所难免。

风车的事情大家依旧争执不下，但是庄园的防御也是问题。虽说牛棚战役动物们大胜，但是琼斯先生他们逃走了，他们打了败仗的消息传遍了整个英格兰，使他们颜面尽失，其他庄园的动物得到这个消息后更加难以驾驭了，种种状况表明，人类有理由，有充足的理由，有可能，完全有可能发动一场更为惨烈的反攻来帮助琼斯复辟庄园。就连防御的问题解决方式，拿破仑和雪球也不出意外地意见不合。拿破仑认为应该武装保卫，多弄一些武器，进行训练学习，自己保护自己，否则就等于坐以待毙。而雪球则觉得应该放出更多的鸽子，散播更多关于动物庄园的消息，让更多的动物反抗造反，使当前的形势更加风起云涌，自卫就不需要了。动物们在这个问题上摇摆不定，分不清哪个对哪个错，他们觉得好像谁的话都有道理。后来他们发现，只要谁在讲话，他们就相信谁。

雪球的设计图终于完成了。于是关于是否建造风车的议案顺理成章地又被正式搬上了星期天的碰头会上。动物们集合完毕，会议正式开始。首先雪球开始作陈述，他把建造风车的好处一条一条摆出来，尽管中间被羊发出的咩咩声打断了n多次，但是他对要建造风车的态度还是很坚定的。接着，拿破仑提出了反对意见，他旁敲侧击地说风车只可能是幻想，大家不能当真，不要拥护这个华而不实的议案。说完他就坐下了，丝毫不关心群众的反应，前后不过半分钟。雪球一见拿破仑结束了发言，就迫不及待地站起来，制止住还要咩咩叫的羊，开始再次慷慨激昂地陈述自己的态度，呼吁大家要支持建造风车。本来之前大家分成了两派，分别支持两头领袖，但现在被雪球的一番话语弄得纷纷倒戈。雪球用他带有魔力的话语带领着动物们进入到了美好的憧憬里——庄园里，动物们会因为有了风车摆脱了又脏又累的生活，此刻不仅仅是有铡草机、萝卜切片机了，还会因有了电而使脱粒机、犁、耙、碾子、收割机还有捆扎机依次运作起来。电还能使生活更为舒适，会为窝棚照明，提供冷热水，天冷还能用电暖气取暖。等他带着大伙畅想完了，表决会何去何从已经很明显了。就在这个当口，拿破仑站起身来，丢给雪球一个奇怪的眼神后，发出了一声前所未闻的尖叫。

突然，会场外响起一阵令人毛骨悚然的咆哮声。随即，蹿进来九只强壮的狗，个个都戴着铜式项圈，瞅着雪球就扑了过去。雪球条件反射地跳开了，勉强躲过了被撕咬的厄运，但是不容他反应，九只狗又扑过来，雪球只能奔出门外，九只狗依旧穷追不舍。动物们被这突如其来的状况搞傻了，除了惊恐，就只会站在门口观望这场追逐。雪球一路飞奔过狭长的牧场，朝着大道跑去，他拼了命地奔跑，狗们紧追不舍，突然他很不幸地滑倒了，就在这千钧一发的时刻，求生的欲望爆发了，雪球重新爬了起来，继续更加拼命地跑，狗们又一次逼近了，其中一只狗差点咬到了他的尾巴，幸而他甩开了。接着他一个奋力冲刺，赶在狗嘴碰到他之前，从树篱的一个豁口蹿了出去，转眼就消失了。好险，就差几英寸，最后雪球算是犬口余生。

动物们心惊胆战地回到大谷仓，没有人敢出声。不一会儿，那些狗叫嚷着跑了回来。起初，大家谁也想不明白这些狗是从哪冒出来的，但很快大家就想起来了，那就是杰西和蓝铃铛产的那九只狗崽子，一直被拿破仑偷偷养着。这九只狗虽然还未完全长大，但个头和成年的相差无几，个个面相凶狠，犹如饿狼。大家还发现，他们始终紧挨着拿破仑，对着他摇头摆尾，那姿态让大家想起了琼斯时代的狗模样。

九只狗拥护着拿破仑站在了昔日老少校发表演说的那个突起的台子，然后他宣布，以后取消每周日早晨的碰头会，他解释说，这是完全在浪费时间的会议，根本毫无意义。他会组织一个委员会，当然委员全都是猪，他会亲自统管这个组织，而以后庄园里的大小议题都由这个委员会来决定。猪们会在私下讨论议题，然后再将决策传达给动物们。而星期天动物们还是需要在清晨的时候聚集在一起，要向庄园的旗帜致敬，唱《英格兰兽》，接受下一周的工作任务。生活依旧，唯一不同的是，再也没有了辩论。

雪球的被驱逐给大家带来了不小的震惊，但是拿破仑刚才的一系列决定更加让动物们无比震撼。有一些动物想要抗议，但是没有找到合适的辩词。拳师立起了耳朵，又甩了甩前额，努力地想要理清些头绪，结果依然是迷糊，最后也没说出什么话。倒是几头猪出了声，那是前排的四只小猪，他们不满地尖叫，想要跳起来发言。立刻就见那几只大狗冲着小猪们龇牙咆哮，小猪们顿时没了声音，乖乖地坐了下去。羊们马上开始了咩咩的“四条腿好，两条腿坏”，叫声响亮，持续了一刻钟，于是，讨论的所有机会就在羊们的叫声中彻底失去了。

后来，肩负使命的声响器巡视了一圈庄园后，就新的安排对动物们给予了解释。

“伙伴们，”声响器叫道，“我相信在场的每一个兄弟姐妹都会对拿破仑同志这种勇于担当额外劳动的行为而深感敬佩和感激。当领导不是你们想象的那么简单，享受根本谈不上，每天都有沉甸甸的责任和任务压在肩膀。拿破仑同志也愿意让大家为自己的事情做主，他一直坚信众生平等嘛，但是一旦你们失策了，后果将不堪设想。你们想，要是你们头脑一热相信了雪球的关于风车的鬼话，结局会怎么样？据我们目前所知，说雪球是坏蛋一点也不为过。”

“可是雪球在牛棚战役中表现很英勇啊。”一个动物立马说道。

声响器很快作出了回答：“你认为只有英勇就够了吗？不是的。最重要的是忠诚和服从。牛棚战役中，雪球是有所表现，但是在不久的将来你们就会发现他的作用被过度地夸大了。如今，我们的口号是纪律，铁一般的纪律。我们才刚刚起步，走错一步都是非常危险的，琼斯，我们的敌人就会回来继续奴役我们。你们谁也不希望是这样的结果吧？”

很显然，每次一提到琼斯，动物们都会立刻同意领袖们的意见，他们无论如何也是不愿意让琼斯回来的；如果辩论会导致琼斯回来，那么取消星期天早上的碰头会就必须执行。声响器的那番论证于是又成了不容怀疑的真理了。拳师静静地站在那里思考了很久，然后用一句话表达了他当时的感受，“既然是拿破仑同志说的话，就肯定不会错的”。从此，他的座右铭又多了一句补充，那就是“拿破仑同志永远正确”。

随着天气渐渐暖和起来，春耕开始了。之前作为雪球工作室的那间屋子依旧被封着，至于画在地上的风车的设计图，大家都觉得肯定被擦掉了。他们听从拿破仑的决定，在每个星期日的上午十点，集合在大谷仓里，领取他们这一周的工作任务。老少校的脑壳风干后从果园里挖了出来，被放在旗杆下面的木桩上，和猎枪并排。每周的升旗仪式结束后，动物们按照规定恭恭敬敬走过脑壳，算是瞻仰吧，最后才能进入大谷仓。现在大家的会议座次可不像以前那么随便了，拿破仑进行了新的安排。前台坐着拿破仑和一个叫小不点的猪，小不点在作诗谱曲方面有着惊人的天赋。围在他们外边的是那九只还没成年的狗，呈半圆形坐着。其他的猪坐在后面。剩余的动物面朝他们坐在大谷仓中间。拿破仑的作风一贯是类似军人的粗暴，他给每个动物安排完工作，仅仅唱了一遍《英格兰兽》，就宣布解散了会议。

距离雪球被赶出去已有三个星期了，这个星期天，动物们听到了一个让他们都格外震惊的消息，那就是拿破仑宣布要建造风车。拿破仑在会上并没有解释为什么他会改变主意，只是简单地警告大家，这是额外的工作，并且将会非常艰辛，也许还会缩减他们的食物。原来过去的三周，委员会里的所有猪都在为风车做着准备工作，包括筹划以及一些细微的部分都统统被考虑到了，整个项目被安排得很妥当，他们预计要花两年的时间来建造风车和进行其他项目的改进。

声响器当天晚上就向动物们透露了一个消息，拿破仑从来没有反对过建造风车。事实上，最先提倡建造风车的就是拿破仑。至于雪球，他其实是个剽窃者，那幅画在孵卵室地板上的风车结构图本是拿破仑创作，只不过他画在了自己的笔记上，而雪球把它抄画在了地板上。对于声响器说的那个消息，有的动物提出了疑问：“那为什么拿破仑起初强烈反对风车计划？”声响器圆滑地回答了他，他说，这是拿破仑同志使用的一个计谋，聪明机灵的拿破仑同志很早就发现了雪球有不良的企图，是个危险分子，最早反对修建风车就是为了将雪球赶出去。现在雪球已经被驱赶了，当然计划就能进行了，不会再有干扰了。声响器说，这就是谋略。他一边蹦蹦跳跳，一边晃动着尾巴，嘴巴里又重复了好多遍：“谋略，同志们，谋略啊！”其间还夹杂着欢快的笑声。动物们不大能明白他的话，他讲得如此有说服力，三条狗一直伴在他的身边，配合着他狂叫，令人无比惊恐。动物们原本的疑问就这么搁下了，算是认可了声响器的解释。

第六章

接下来的一年里，动物们拼了命地干活，即便像奴隶，流血流汗甚至牺牲，他们都乐在其中。因为他们明白，他们不是为那群压榨他们，奴役他们，无所事事的败类人类效力，而是为了他们自己以及子孙后代的利益而劳作，他们心甘情愿。

自打开春起，动物们每周的工作时间达到了六十个小时，这种情况持续到夏季结束。到了八月，拿破仑提出了新规定，以后星期天的下午也要继续劳动。虽然他把星期天下午的劳动定性为义务劳动，不强迫完全自愿，但是如果谁不参加的话，将被扣除一半的口粮。即便这样，大伙还是发现，有的任务没办法完成。不光收成比去年差了一些，还有两块地由于没有及时耕犁，初夏时就没有种上根茎作物。不难想象，这个冬季会有多么难熬了。

风车工程甚至比想象中还要艰难。按说建造风车的材料算是准备得差不多了，庄园里本就有一处质地很好的石灰矿，加上在一个棚子里找到的大量沙子和水泥。问题出现了：石头体积太大，不符合建造的规格，但是动物们不知道怎么把它打造成尺寸合适的碎块。动物们因为碍于不能直立，所以那些工具他们没办法使用。他们在浪费了几个星期的体力后，总算是想出了一个好主意。原理可以简单地说成是利用地心引力。实践起来是这样的：动物们用绳子绑住大石头，然后集体上阵，牛、马、羊及所有能拽住绳子的动物，有时，猪也会来帮一把，他们慢慢地拉着石头，直到把它拖到矿顶，最后就是奋力把石头推下崖。显然，等石头着地就会碎开。接下来的工作就是运送摔碎的石块，这些体积小的，运送起来要方便得多。装得满满的货车由马来拉，单块的由羊来拖，母山羊穆尔丽和驴子本杰明合伙拉一辆两轮旧车，这个装得要少一些。日日地积累，直到夏天快要过去了，才算是达到了预计的数量。紧接着，猪就开始指挥大家开始了建造工作。

整个采石过程中的艰辛是无法想象的，进度也是出乎意料的慢。动物们要花费整整一天的时间，耗尽身上的每一分气力，才能把一块原石弄到矿顶，但是还会出现懊恼的事，那就是石头从崖上滚落却没有摔碎。拳师成了中流砥柱，他一个的力气是剩下所有动物力气之和，如果没有他，估计很多工作都无法完成。动物们经常会被原石拖着往山下滚，他们除了无助地哭喊别无他法，每每此刻，总是拳师出手奋力拉紧绳索致使石头停止下滑。拳师的拼命是动物们都亲眼所见的，他步履艰难地吃力爬坡，呼吸越来越快，蹄子尖紧紧地抠住地面，汗水完全浸透了他巨大的身躯，动物们对他无不敬佩和称赞。苜蓿时常告诫他要小心身体，不要劳累过度。但是拳师从来不上心，他总是用那两句口头禅来回答任何问题，“我要更加努力工作”，“拿破仑同志永远正确”对他来说足够了。他与那只小公鸡修改了一下协议，把每天清晨提前半小时叫醒他，定为提前三刻钟。即便现在的业余时间被减到很少了，但他仍然把他争取来的这点时间，花在了运送石块上，他独自一个去采石场，没有伙伴帮忙，自己捡碎石，自己装车，并且装得满满的，再独自一个拉到已经定好的风车的建造地点。

这个夏天过得很辛苦，动物们都不停地干活，虽然他们得到的食物不比琼斯给的少，但是也没有多到哪去，整体生活还算过得去。因为不用再供养那五个胡作非为的混蛋人类，只需要养活自己，这相比得来的优势使得他们暂时忘记了他们遇到的挫折和磨难。在干活的很多方面，动物们还是有自己的优势的，能节省劳动力，提高了不少效率。比如锄草这方面的活，动物们就比人类手拿把掐得多了。还有现在动物们团结一致，没有了小偷小摸，牧场和耕地就没必要再隔开了，这样撤掉了栅栏和树篱，动物们就省去了保养这个工作。但是一帆风顺的日子从来就不会太长，到了夏末，一些问题就接踵而来。生活正常物品的短缺越来越不得不被重视，煤油、线绳、狗食饼干还有钉在马掌上的蹄铁，还有种子和人造化肥，以及后来需要的各类工具、建造风车所用的机械设备等等，这些是庄园里无法生产的物品，至于怎么弄到它们，动物们都表示束手无策。

又是一个星期天，早上动物们按照惯例来到大谷仓接受任务。这天，拿破仑宣布了一项新决议：动物庄园以后将要同附近的其他庄园做些交易。他说他这么做并不是有什么商业目的，完全是为了获取那些生活必需品，并且要不惜一切代价拿到建造风车的部件。暂时决定要卖掉的是一垛干草和一部分当年收获的小麦，如果以后还需要钱，就要从鸡蛋下手了，因为在威灵登鸡蛋总是受欢迎的。拿破仑又说了，鸡们应该为此感到骄傲，因为他们将要对风车的建造做出特殊贡献。

动物们这次又感觉到了迷茫。动物主义里是有这几条的：永远不跟人类交往，永远不从事交易，永远不使用钱币，这不是在反抗成功后的第一次会议上就通过了的决议吗？那时候的场景可都没忘呢，甚至可以说是记忆犹新。这时，那四只小猪，就是曾经想反对拿破仑废除碰头会的小猪们又准备发言，同样的，被那几只恶狗的吼叫，把话给生生地咽回去了，继续保持沉默。接着，又是羊们打破了沉默的气氛，他们咩咩地大叫着“四条腿好，两条腿坏”，尴尬的局面就这么被对付过去了。最后，拿破仑抬起前蹄示意大家安静下来，他说他已作好了万全的打算，为了不让动物们中的任何一个去干与人打交道的事，也为了庄园的发展，他要牺牲自己，将所有的压力重担自己挑。他已经联系了一个中介人，他是住在威灵登的一位律师，叫作温普尔，他答应了做动物庄园和外部世界的联络人，会在每周一上午来拜访庄园，捎些信息。不例外的，拿破仑最后是在动物庄园万岁的呼喊声中结束讲话的。同样不例外的，动物们在唱完一遍《英格兰兽》后就匆匆离场了。

声响器又在这个新决议提出后，来到动物当中说出一些话来使他们安心。他言之凿凿地保证，根本就没有“不准从事交易和使用钱币”这样的决议，更何谈已经通过了呢？之所以会有疑问，那就是一种猜测嘛，凭空想象的，如果追根究底，可能是当初雪球那个坏家伙的一个谎言吧。有些动物还是半信半疑的，狡猾的声响器就问他们：“你们敢确定这不是你们梦里的事情？你们有这些决议的记录吗？记载在哪了呢？”当然，这些是从来没被记录的。动物们因此也就觉得是自己弄错了。

就如决议里定的，温普尔在每周一都要来庄园。这个人长着络腮胡子，身材矮小，但是丝毫不影响他的外表透出狡诈的气息。他经办的范围很小，但他人精明得过分，他早就意识到了动物庄园会需要中介人，并且作为头一人，佣金将非常可观。他在动物们面前走来走去，动物们对他还是畏惧的，所以尽量躲得远一点。不过，在这些四条腿的动物看到他们的领袖拿破仑同志用两条腿站立着向温普尔发号施令，他们的心里还是没来由地骄傲了一下，之前对新决议的抵触情绪也得到了很大程度的缓解。目前动物们和人类的关系已经今非昔比了，但是在人类那一方，动物庄园多一分繁荣，他们就对动物们多一分憎恶，甚至于到了仇视的最大值。每一个人类都坚持一个信条：动物庄园的下场就是破产，那个建造风车的项目毫无疑问是会失败的。这些消息大都从酒馆里传出来，因为人类常常聚在酒馆里谈论动物庄园的事情，用图表论证了风车倒塌的必然性，或者是建起来后的风车也不会运转等等带有嘲笑意味的谈话。但是出现了一个比较有意思的迹象，那就是在谈话中，人类对于动物们自己把庄园管理得比较井井有条，而或多或少地对他们刮目相看，主要表现就是，人类在提到庄园的名称时，已经默认了动物庄园，而不再说是曼纳庄园。而琼斯也基本已经不再受到其他人的支持，他自己成天萎靡不振，也放弃了反击，最后干脆搬到了国内的另外一个地方生活去了。动物庄园能和外界联系，还真是多亏了这个温普尔，但是出现了小道消息，还不断升级，内容是拿破仑还会选择跟两个邻居庄园的农场主——福科斯伍德的皮尔金顿先生或平彻菲尔德的弗雷德里克先生，签订一个商业性质的合同，不过需要强调的是，不会同时跟两家签合同。

大概就在那个节骨眼上，猪们突然入住了庄园主的房子，也就是琼斯以前住的地方。动物们再次感到很不舒服，他们记得之前是有通过这样一条禁止住人类房子的决议。可是声响器再次让他们认识到自己思想的不准确性。他说，作为首领、领袖（近来，他在提到拿破仑时开始用领袖称谓），找个安静的地方，方能好好休息，况且身份比以前尊贵，理应住到比猪圈更能符合身份的房屋里。还让动物们充满疑问的事情是猪们不但在厨房里进食还在客厅里娱乐，最后竟然睡在床上。拳师倒是没有什么表示，他只说了他的经典句子“拿破仑同志永远正确”。苜蓿就纳闷了，因为她记得有一条规定不许睡床的决议啊，她不甘心地跑到大谷仓尽头盯着墙上的七诫，反复地看，想要从中找到答案，但是遗憾的是，她不识字，连个字母都忘了。她只好找来山羊穆尔丽帮忙。

“穆尔丽，”她说，“你帮我把《七诫》中的第四条读一下吧，是不是有永远不许睡在床上的字眼？”

穆尔丽聚精会神地盯着墙上看了半天，费劲地拼出来。

她是这么给苜蓿念的：“墙上写的是‘任何动物都不准睡床铺被单’。”

苜蓿更加迷茫了，她完全不记得戒律里有提到被单，但是它怎么会写在墙上的？那么原来就有它吧。此刻，身旁围着两三条狗的声响器赶巧来到这里，他总是能从不一般的角度来对问题进行剖析。

“看来，同志们，你们已经知道我们猪在庄主床上睡觉的事了？这有什么问题吗？你们不是又找出一条反对在床上睡觉的戒律吧？床的功能只是睡觉，没有那么多的意义。能睡觉的地方都可以叫作床，比如窝棚里的那堆干草。为什么这条戒律针对被单呢？因为被单是人类的产物。我们只是睡在床上，覆盖在床上的被单早就被我们全都撤掉了，我们睡在毯子里。这也是舒适的床，床的形式太多了。同志们，我告诉你们，我们付出了大量的脑力，所有的脑力工作都是我们干的，所以现在的舒适程度远远跟我们的付出不成正比。同志们，你们不会残忍到连我们的休息权都剥夺吧？你们不会想让我们过于劳累而失职吧？你们不会想让琼斯趁着我们失职的时候回来吧？”

一提到琼斯会趁机回来，动物们立刻就消除了声响器的疑虑。他们从此后再也没有谈论任何有关猪睡在庄主床上的事了。没过几天，一项新决议从猪委员会里诞生了，那就是以后每天早上猪可以晚起一个小时，其他动物正常，对此，大家都没有什么抱怨。

一直到秋天，动物们都在累得要死，却还算快乐的矛盾中徘徊。说起来也已经一年了，这一年他们不停地辛苦干活，但是准备过冬的饲料依旧不宽裕，因为他们卖掉了部分的干草和谷物。如今风车工程差不多建了一半了，算是可以补偿这一切。动物们在秋收后，趁着天气好，持续晴朗无雨，铆足了劲地干活，比以前还要卖力。他们整天不辞辛劳地拖着石块，来回奔波。他们通过加倍的劳作使墙在一天之内可以增高一英尺，对此，他们无比欣慰，认为所有的付出都是值得的。拳师甚至在夜间也会时常出来，借着月光干上一两个小时。动物们喜欢在工作空闲时在建了一半的风车外绕来绕去，赞叹着墙体的坚固和笔直，其实就是在为自己能建造这样规模宏大的工程感到惊喜。老本杰明在风车的事情上一直保持着冷淡的情绪，他依旧像以前那样，说了句驴子的寿命都很长这样神秘的话后，就保持沉默了。

十一月夹杂着西南风来到了。随之而来的就是停工，因为湿度太大了，水泥没法搅拌。天气越来越恶劣，终于在一个夜晚达到上限，那晚狂风大作，吹得庄园里的窝棚连地基都开始摇晃了，还卷走了大谷仓顶棚的瓦片。鸡群在睡梦中被一声枪响给惊醒，他们恐惧得只知道咯咯乱叫。第二天一早，从窝棚里走出来的动物们就发现庄园里一片狼藉，旗杆被吹倒横在地上，果园里的大榆树被连根拔起，更让他们不可思议的是，风车被摧毁了，成了一堆碎片，他们看到了这一幕可怕的场景，抑制不住发出了绝望的号叫。

动物们在没有号召的情况下集体冲向风车，很少外出的拿破仑率先跑到了队伍的最前面。在那里，他们的奋斗成果倒了，他们千方百计不辞辛劳弄碎拉到这里又砌上的石头，此刻四下里散落着。动物们沮丧极了，他们盯着倒塌下来的碎石块，表示默哀。拿破仑一句话也没说，他来回检查着，不时闻闻地面上的味道，尾巴开始变得坚硬，还会伴随着剧烈的来回抽动，他这样的表现说明他现在的心理活动高度紧张。突然，他好像想到了什么办法，就停在那儿不动了。

然后，他平静地说：“你们知道这是谁干的吗？你们想过会是谁半夜潜进来毁掉了我们的风车吗？是雪球！”他的声调突然提高了八度用近乎咆哮的语气吼道，“这是雪球干的坏事！这个用心险恶的叛徒，他早就计划好了，他摸黑钻进来偷偷跑到这里，就是为了来摧毁我们这一年的劳动成果。他就是要阻挠我们的计划，他报复我们当年驱逐他，真是太可耻了！所以我宣布，要将雪球处死。谁要是能把他就地正法，就颁发给谁‘二级动物英雄’勋章，还有十八升苹果的物质奖励。谁要是能活捉他，就能得到三十六升的苹果。”

动物们被拿破仑的一番话惊得不知所以，他们对于雪球会犯下如此深重的罪孽感到十分愤慨，他们在互相发泄了一通之后，开始思考怎么在雪球再次来袭时抓住他。基本同步的是，动物们在离小山包不远的草地上，发现了几只脚印，仅仅几码远就消失了踪迹，但很显然，那是一只猪留下来的，他似乎是去了树篱上的一个缺口。拿破仑对脚印仔细地嗅，得出了结论：脚印就是雪球留下的。按照他的思考得来的结论，雪球很可能是从福科斯伍德庄园那边来的。

拿破仑在判断完蹄印后，就对着动物们大声地说道：“同志们，伙伴们，我们不能再犹豫了，不能再迟疑了，我们还要去干很多的工作，就从今天开始，从现在开始，我们重整旗鼓，不论晴天还是雨天，不论天寒还是地冻，我们要把满腔的热情投入到重新建造风车的工作中去。我们要让叛徒雪球见识一下我们的战斗力，我们不能让他得逞，不能让他易如反掌地把我们的伟大成果给毁了。伙伴们，牢记我们的计划，不能因为雪球的破坏就使它有任何的变动，相反我们一定会如期完成的。同志们，前进！风车万岁！动物庄园万岁！”

第七章

那个冬天极其寒冷。狂风暴雨刚停，冰雨夹着暴雪就降临了，接着就是天寒地冻。这样恶劣的天气一直持续到二月，这期间，动物们一直都没有松懈，一直都在尽心尽力地为风车的重建劳作着，他们知道外界一直都在注视着他们，如果不能按期完成风车的重建，一定会让那些人类耻笑的。

不怀好意的人类放话说他们不相信是雪球毁掉了风车，而使风车倒塌的真正原因是墙壁太薄了。但是动物们并不认同人类的断言。虽然嘴上说不认同，但是他们却把墙砌得足有三英尺厚，整整是以前厚度的两倍之多。可想而知，这样建下来就需要更多的石头，动物们就需要继续去采集石头。但是因为长时间下雪，采石场的地面全被雪覆盖了，什么事都不能干。后来，天气变得干燥了，但是依然寒冷，动物们才能出门干一些活，但是对他们来说是痛苦不堪的工作，动物们已经不像以前那么满怀希望了。饥饿和寒冷困扰着他们。只有拳师和苜蓿还没有气馁。声响器时不时地就会发表一番精彩的演说，内容无外乎是劳动的乐趣和劳动的神圣，但是真正让动物们产生动力的却是拳师的表现，他像往常一样的勤劳还有他经常说出来勉励自己的那句嘶鸣：“我要更加努力工作。”

食物从一月份开始就匮乏了。因为谷物饲料的需求量大，耗费得多，没办法维持以后的生活，动物们不得不考虑用土豆来填充一部分对谷物的需求。但是很不幸的，不久他们发现地窖上面没有盖上足够厚的土，导致很大一部分土豆冻了，并且冻得发黑，有的已经发软坏掉了，仅剩下一小部分可以食用。动物们毫无办法，只能吃谷糠和萝卜充饥，已经没有其他的食物能提供给他们，这样的日子持续了很长时间。看来挨饿的日子离他们越来越近了。

目前，关乎他们生死的唯一要做的事情就是对外界掩盖他们的真实现状。人类因为风车事故而重新振作了，他们到处散布谣言，各种版本的，内容离奇的，但全是和动物庄园有关的。对于动物庄园的现状，外面已经传疯了，说动物们已经面临饥荒和瘟疫，生死一线，并且还起了内讧，不断地自相残杀，严重到吞食幼仔才能勉强度日的程度。这样的传言让拿破仑不得不下决心利用温普尔，因为外界一旦知道了粮食的真实状况，那产生多么可怕的后果都不为怪，现下只能通过温普尔让外界对庄园里的情况产生相反的印象。之前，温普尔每周到庄园里来，动物们都是能躲便躲，绝不与之有接触。而如今，一小部分动物被有意识地挑选出来去接触他，这一小部分动物里绵羊居多，他们被命令待在距离温普尔先生不远的地方，并且让他们之间看似闲聊的谈话有意无意地传到他的耳朵里，谈话的内容也被设定为饲料很丰富或者饲料已经增加等等。此外，拿破仑还命令动物们把已经空空如也的堆在饲料棚里的那几个大箱子装上满满的沙子，用仅剩的饲料覆盖在沙子上，伪造成粮满仓。然后找了个合适的时机让温普尔在穿过饲料棚时看见，这个做法看来天衣无缝，温普尔信以为真，他出了庄园就向外界宣传，动物庄园里不可能发生过粮食短缺的现象。

即便骗过了外界，但问题依旧存在，并且越来越严重，维持到了一月底，就不得不想办法从别的地方搞到粮食。拿破仑在这些天里基本上没露过面，他整天待在庄主的院里，每一道门都有凶神恶煞的狗蹲守着。他出来的方式也是很正规的，六条狗组成队簇拥着他，不允许任何动物靠近，一旦靠近，狗们就龇牙狂吠以示警告。现在每个星期天早上，拿破仑也不轻易露面了，一般是通过另一头猪来传达他的命令，一般这个殊荣就落在了声响器头上。

又一个星期天早上，声响器传达了这样一个消息，所有的母鸡，下的蛋都要上缴。原因是拿破仑同温普尔签订了一个合同，合同规定每周由庄园提供四百枚鸡蛋。当然换回的钱要购买足够的谷物和粗粉，用于维持动物们的基本生活直至夏季的到来，那时，情况就会得以改善。

这个命令一传达完，母鸡们的抗议声就炸开了锅。即使之前给她们打过这样的“预防针”，会有一些牺牲，但是那时的她们根本不相信真的会有这一天的到来。这个时候，她们刚刚准备好一窝蛋用于开春孵化小鸡，她们认为现在拿走这些蛋，无疑为图财害命。为了让拿破仑收回这道命令，三只年轻的米诺卡小黑鸡带领母鸡们作出了反抗，方法是飞到椽子上产蛋，后果是鸡蛋全都落在了地上，摔碎了。面对自驱逐琼斯一役以来的第一次带有造反意味的举动，拿破仑毫不留情地作出了一道新指令，停止母鸡们的饲料供应，并且如果有接济发生，哪怕只是一粒玉米，也会对接济者处以死刑，执行者由狗负责担任。这样的对抗仅仅只持续了五天，母鸡们就败下阵了，她们乖乖地回到她们的窝里产蛋。九只母鸡在这次反抗活动中死去了，尸体被埋在了果园里，死亡原因被要求说成是感染球虫病。这次风波没让温普尔知道半点，一辆食品专用敞篷车每周准时出现在庄园，拉走规定好的鸡蛋。

雪球消失了，这一段时间动物们都没有再见过他。听说是躲到了附近的那两个庄园里的一家，或者在福科斯伍德庄园，或者在平彻菲尔德庄园。这段时间，动物庄园和周围几个庄园的关系有所缓和。碰巧庄园里有一堆木材，温普尔建议拿破仑把它们用作交易。因为木材是十年前整理完榉树林后留在那儿的，现在已完全风干，非常耐用，两个庄园的庄主皮尔金顿先生和弗雷德里克先生都有意向买下这批木材。拿破仑因此犹豫不定。他的态度一直不明朗，奇怪的是外界关于雪球的传言也在不断地变化，拿破仑有意跟弗雷德里克先生签约时，传言就说雪球躲在福科斯伍德庄园，而他改变主意与皮尔金顿先生洽谈时，传言马上就变成雪球一定在平彻菲尔德庄园。

又一个让大家炸开了锅的消息在初春时节突然传出来。雪球常常在夜半时分溜回庄园，更可恶的是他是回来搞破坏的。谷子少了，牛奶桶被打翻了，鸡蛋也被打破了，苗圃惨遭践踏，就连果树皮也被啃咬了。这一切在动物们看来，毫无疑问都是雪球干的，他们吓得躲在窝棚里夜不能寐。从此后，雪球成了一切搞破坏的代名词，但凡有一点小差错，那根本不用思考，第一反应肯定是雪球所为。如果有一扇玻璃窗子被打破了，或者有一个排水沟堵住了，马上就会有动物跳出来指认是雪球在半夜干的。当饲料棚的钥匙找不到了，动物们也无比坚信地认为是雪球把它扔进了井里，即便后来钥匙被在一袋面粉底下找到了，动物们还是深信依然是雪球干的。母牛们对外指责雪球半夜溜进牛棚，趁她们睡着了吸走了她们的奶。因为老鼠们异常猖獗，雪球被认定又多一个种族的同伙。

调查雪球的行动在万众瞩目中由拿破仑同志亲力亲为。几条狗组成的护卫队跟随他对庄园里的窝棚开始了一番仔细的巡查，其他的动物恭恭敬敬地保持着几步的距离跟随着他。走几步拿破仑就会俯下身子对着地面嗅一嗅，看是否有雪球留下的气味，他说他能够凭气味辨别出雪球留下的脚印。他保持着这个步调嗅完了整个庄园的窝棚，一个角落也不放过，大谷仓，牛棚，鸡舍，还有菜园无一例外都发现了雪球来过的痕迹。只见他的嘴拱到地上，狠狠吸上几口气，然后发出一种暗含惊讶的高调声音：“这里，雪球来过这里，我保证，我准确无误地嗅出了！”只要一听到“雪球”这个代名词，狗们立刻像条件反射似的张开血盆大口，冲着拿破仑闻过的地方狂吠不止，那声音让动物们都惊恐不已。

大家让这次的调查搞得失魂落魄，他们觉得雪球无处不在，就像一种看不见的势力，围绕在他们身边，随时能让他们遭受各种各样的威胁。晚上，声响器把神色慌张的大家紧急召集到一起，大家不免猜测是不是有重大的事情发生了。

果不其然，声响器神经质地跳来跳去，大声地叫道：“同志们，我们发现了一件极其恐怖的事情，雪球，那个叛徒现在正在平彻菲尔德庄园，他和弗雷德里克正在策划一场阴谋，他们要偷袭我们，妄图夺走我们的庄园。战争一开始，雪球就会给他们领路。更让我们不可思议的是我们低估雪球了，原本我们以为他造反是想要满足他的野心和狂妄自大，但是错了，那不是主要原因。同志们，你们知道真正的原因是什么吗？我来告诉你们，雪球从一开始就跟琼斯是狼狈为奸的！他是潜伏在我们队伍里的间谍。我们就是从刚刚找到的他留下来的没能及时带走的文件中论证这一点的。同志们，这完全能解释很多问题了，不是吗？牛棚战役中，你们不是亲眼见证了他是如何想让我们战败和毁灭的吗？值得庆幸的是，我们并没有让他的阴谋得逞。”

动物们听完声响器的话后全都震惊了。雪球这样的罪行与破坏风车相比，那就是不可饶恕的罪孽。他们面对声响器控诉的雪球的罪行，还是迟疑了好大一会儿。他们记得，貌似是记得的，在牛棚一战中，雪球是冲在最前面的，带领大家，并且给予大家莫大的鼓励和安慰，即使被琼斯的子弹伤到了脊背，他也没有停下战斗的脚步。动物们首先就很不理解这一点，他这么做怎么能是支持琼斯的呢？此刻就连拳师也困惑不已，他以前几乎不问为什么的。他躺了下去，把两个前腿压在身子底下，闭着眼睛开始费力地思考这个问题。

半晌，他说：“这个事情我不相信。我亲眼看见雪球在牛棚战役中英勇善战，不畏牺牲。而且，战争结束后，我们不是还授予了他‘一级战斗英雄’的勋章吗？”

“那是我们犯的错误，”声响器回答道，“我们现在不是弄明白了吗，同志们，他当时那么做的目的是想诱惑我们走向毁灭。他在他的文件中记录得清清楚楚，他没带走是他的不幸，但对我们来说是万幸。”

“但是他受了伤，并且流了血还在继续战斗。”拳师继续提出疑问。

“这很容易解释，那根本就是他早就安排好了的。”声响器叫嚷道，“琼斯是故意用子弹擦破雪球的一点皮的。你可以看看他留下的文件，你要是识字就可以看。他们之前商量好的就是让雪球在关键时刻发出撤退信号，这样就可以把庄园拱手送人了。他就差一点成功的时候，我们的领袖——英勇的拿破仑同志，及时出现了，我甚至可以说，要不是拿破仑先生，他们的阴谋就得逞了。你们仔细回忆一下，当时雪球在看见琼斯和他的伙计们冲进院子的一瞬间，转身就往回跑，你们中的好多也跟着他往回逃，恐慌迅速蔓延。就在那个紧要关头，我们就快沦陷的时刻，拿破仑同志挺身而出，他在大喊了一声‘消灭人类！’后立即冲上去死死地咬住了琼斯的一条腿，这样的场景你们忘了吗？同志们，这样的场景怎么能忘了呢？你们不会忘的，对吧？”声响器又使出他的拿手好戏，一边左右蹦来跳去，一边大声地叫喊。

动物们听着声响器绘声绘色地描述当时的那个场景，他们好像还真就想起了那样的画面，至少，他们还记得雪球确实在那一仗的紧要关头往回跑过。但是拳师还是觉得哪里不对劲，很不安心。

他思索了很久，还是开了口：“我还是不相信，至少不相信雪球从开始就是个叛徒。至于他后来的那些作为，我不否认。我认为他在牛棚战役的时候还是一个好同志的。”

对于拳师的话，声响器只是用非常缓慢而又极其坚定的话语算是给他的回应：“我们的领袖，拿破仑先生已经明确地——明确地，同志们——认定，雪球自始至终都是琼斯的奸细。嗯，是的，追溯到还没有谁想到要造反之前就是了。”

“哦，那就是另外一个事情了！”拳师回答，“只要是拿破仑同志说的，就一定不会是错的。”

“这样的态度才正确嘛，同志们！”声响器满意地叫道。即便如此，还是有动物发现他用他闪闪发亮的小眼睛狠狠地瞥了拳师一眼。他转过身的同时停顿了一下，用更重一点的语气补充了一句：“我好心提醒你们一下，睁大你们的双眼。我们有理由相信，雪球还有同伙潜伏在我们中间。”

在四天后的下午，动物们得到了拿破仑的命令全都聚集在了院子里。拿破仑等到所有的动物都到齐了，才佩戴着他的两枚勋章（因为他最近刚授予自己一枚“一级动物英雄”勋章和一枚“二级动物英雄”勋章）从屋里走出来，那九只高大凶猛的狗一直紧紧地围绕在他身边，发出让所有动物都不寒而栗的阵阵狂吠。大伙都默默地蜷缩在自己的位子上，空气中的气压很低，预示着一场暴风骤雨即将来临。

拿破仑站住后，脸色挂着严厉的表情，他扫视了一圈他的听众，然后发出了一声尖叫。狗们听到这声尖叫后立刻冲上前去，咬住了四只猪的耳朵就把他们往外拖。不管猪发出多么惊恐的哀嚎和求救，不顾猪的耳朵鲜血直流，狗们一路把这四只猪拖到了拿破仑脚下。尝到血腥味的狗，一时之间兴奋得要发了疯。更让每个动物吃惊的是，有三条狗竟然扑向了拳师。拳师当机立断伸出一只巨掌，把还在半空中的一只狗抓住后，按在地上。那条狗哀叫着告饶，另外两只狗吓得灰溜溜地退了回去。拳师用眼神征求拿破仑的意见，想知道如何处理这只狗，是踩死还是放掉。拿破仑看到这场面后，脸色陡然就变了，他厉声喝令拳师放掉狗。拳师抬起蹄子，那只狗哀嚎着负伤跑了回去。

吵闹声马上停止了。那四头猪浑身发抖，挤作一团，等待着对他们的审判，他们就是之前曾经抗议过拿破仑废除星期天早上碰头会的四只小猪，此刻他们脸上的每一道纹理仿佛都刻满了他们的罪状。拿破仑厉声要求他们自己坦白罪行。不等进一步的逼问，他们便开口一一交代了：自从雪球被驱逐后，他们之间一直保持着秘密的来往，最初的摧毁风车，是他们协助雪球完成的，并且还和他达成了一项协议，准备把动物庄园送给弗雷德里克先生。还有就是雪球一直都是琼斯的间谍，这是雪球曾经偷偷透露给他们的。他们刚一坦白完毕，狗们没给他们丝毫喘息的时间，就扑过去撕裂了他们的喉咙。完事之后，拿破仑用冰冷的声音问在场的其他动物，还有谁，还有什么要坦白的。

在鸡蛋事件上带头反抗的那三只母鸡走上前去，供认了雪球在她们梦里指示她们违抗拿破仑的命令。她们被执行了死刑。一只鹅也走上前坦白了他曾经在去年收割时私藏了6穗谷子，在深夜拿出偷吃了。随后一只绵羊也交代了雪球强迫她在饮水池中撒尿。后来又有两只羊坦白了他们曾经杀害了一位拿破仑的忠心追随者——一只老山羊，杀害的手段就是趁他患病咳嗽时，围着火堆追赶他，使他一直绕来绕去。这些交代完罪行的动物都被就地正法了。一个接一个的坦白，一个接一个的死刑，拿破仑的脚边很快就堆起来数不清的尸体，空气中到处都是浓郁的血腥味，这样的情形很久没出现了，自从琼斯走后。

一切坦白和杀戮结束后，剩下的动物们惶惶地互相挤着离开了，只有狗和猪还留在原地。动物们胆战心惊地想要分清楚，到底哪件事情带给他们的震惊更为巨大一些，是雪球和外人的勾结背叛，还是刚刚亲眼所见的对待背叛的残忍的惩罚。琼斯还在的时候，这样的屠宰经常发生，但是远不如这次给他们带来的震撼大，如今的情况糟糕极了，因为这是发生在自己同志之间的。琼斯离开之后，一直都没有发生过杀戮，就连一只小老鼠都不曾遭到过杀害。动物们漫无目的地走着，此时他们已经走到了小山包上，已经建好一半的风车矗立在那里。他们挤在一起趴了下来，像是要相互取暖。这些动物里有苜蓿、穆尔丽、本杰明、牛、羊还有一群鸡和鹅，唯独没有看见那只猫。其实在拿破仑宣布集合的时候，那只猫就不见了踪影。大家都闭嘴不语地卧着，只有拳师烦躁不安地走来走去，他的那条长长的黑色尾巴不断地抽打着他自己的肚皮。他实在难以接受，一丝低低的嘶鸣声泄露了他的心情。最后，他忍不住开了口：

“我还是难以理解，我怎么也想不到我们庄园里会发生这样的事情，造成这样的原因一定是我们犯了某些过失。依我看来，只有更加努力的工作才是解决这个问题的最好办法。所以，从今天起，我决定，以后我要提前整整一个小时起床。”

说完，他迈着沉重的步子朝着采石场那边走去。走到那儿，他一口气装了两车石头，直到把石头全都卸到了风车工地上，他才回马厩里睡觉。

其他的动物一直躺在小山包上，他们一直默默地围在苜蓿身边。在这里可以看到整个乡村的景色，绝大部分庄园也能收入眼里：那能一直延至大路的狭长的牧场，已经被耕犁过的地里长着茂盛碧绿的麦苗，草料地，灌木丛，饮水池，庄园里红色的屋顶上，烟囱里现在冒出了袅袅的炊烟。现在是春天的傍晚，万里无云，夕阳把它金色的余光涂上了茂密的草地和葱郁的树林，使它们闪着金子般的光芒。此时此景，刺激到了动物们，他们突然意识到了这是他们的家园，每一寸土地都是属于他们的，是他们的共有财产。这一刻呈现在动物们眼前的正是他们魂牵梦萦，一直向往的地方。苜蓿的双眼饱含着泪水注视着下面的山坡。给她一个用言语表达想法的机会的话，她一定会说，现在的状况已背离了以前的目标，几年前他们制定的为推翻人类而努力奋斗的目标不是这样的，老少校第一次鼓动他们造反，那晚所热情期盼可不是现在这样恐怖的杀戮的惨状。对于未来的唯一畅想就是能有一个这样的社会：摆脱饥饿，不受鞭子的折磨，动物们相互平等，在劳动中尽其所能，有能力的保护弱小的，就如当初老少校演讲的晚上，她用前腿保护那些失去了妈妈的小鸭子一样。现在的她无比困惑，从什么时候起他们不再敢表达自己的真实想法了。那些凶残的狗就在她面前咆哮，并且残忍地撕碎了交代了吓人罪行的同伴，她只能眼睁睁地瞅着却一点办法也没有，她的大脑里甚至连反抗的念头都没有。但是，她还是知道，这样的局势也要比原来琼斯在的时候强多了，再说了，防止人类卷土重来应该是他们眼下最为重要的事情。她就是这样，无论发生了什么样的事情，都对拿破仑同志忠心耿耿，接受他下达的任务，然后勤勤恳恳，努力完成。但是，这毕竟不是她和其他动物所曾殷切期盼的并为之努力工作的生活，他们积极努力地建造风车，被破坏了之后又加大力度重建，不畏生死地坦然面对琼斯的枪林弹雨，并不是想要过如今的这种生活。她只能把她的想法表达成这样，虽然她觉得还是不够准确。

苜蓿想了想，觉得什么都不能够准确表达出她现在心中的想法，只能换作唱歌了，她带头唱起了《英格兰兽》。围在她身边的动物们也跟着她开始唱，他们一遍又一遍地演唱，唱得缓慢而忧伤，但是配合得非常和谐，音调悦耳，他们在此之前从来没有这样演唱过这支歌。

当他们唱完第三遍，声响器就带着两条狗跑来阻止他们继续演唱，从他的脸上就可以看出要有重大的事情宣布。果不其然，他奉了拿破仑的特别旨意来通知他们，《英格兰兽》被废除了。从今以后，禁止再唱这首歌。

动物们被这个命令惊呆了。

穆尔丽第一个反应过来，随即她大声问道：“这是为什么？”

“因为不再需要了，”声响器冷冷地回答她，“《英格兰兽》这首歌是造反歌，我们造反已经成功了，今天下午处决完那群叛徒就象征着我们彻底地造反成功。我们已经把外部和内部的敌人都打垮了。《英格兰兽》所表达的是我们对未来社会的美好渴望和期盼，我们现在已经建立了这样的社会了，这首歌的目的达到后就没有价值了。”

动物们即便很惊恐，但还是不能接受，他们刚要抗议，绵羊们就大声咩咩地叫嚷开来：“四条腿好，两条腿坏”，这个老调子总是在关键的时候出现，这样持续了几分钟，关于这首歌要不要继续唱的争议也就这样不见了。

《英格兰兽》就这样被取缔了，随之由诗人小不点写的一首歌取而代之，它的开头是这样的：

动物庄园，动物庄园，

我坚决不能让你受伤！

在这之后的每个星期天早上，升旗之后演唱的就是这首歌。不知是什么原因，动物们就是觉得不论是曲调还是歌词，这首歌都赶不上原来的《英格兰兽》。

第八章

直到几天以后，动物们对那种成批杀害同伴引起的恐慌差不多快要完全退去时才想起，或者应该说自己认为记得，戒律中第六条有规定：“凡动物一律不准杀害其他动物”。他们觉得之前发生的杀戮事件违背了戒律所传达的精神，但是再提及这个话题时，他们却不希望被猪和狗听到。苜蓿请求本杰明念第六条戒律给她听，本杰明像往常一样，对待此类问题的态度依然是拒绝掺和。没办法，苜蓿只能又找到穆尔丽。穆尔丽是这样给她念的：“凡动物一律不准杀害其他动物毫无缘由。”动物们对后面的几个字，似乎不知道为什么没有一点印象。如果依照戒律上所写的，那么处死那些与雪球沆瀣一气的叛徒是有理由的，完全没有违反戒律。

与前些年相比，动物们在这一年干得更为辛苦。又要重建风车，又不能丢下庄园里的那些常规工作，更艰巨的是，重建风车不但要加厚墙体，并且是原来的两倍，还要在原先规定的日期内，这样动物们背负的任务可想而知是多么艰巨。动物们已经多次感觉到，与琼斯时代相比，现在的劳动时间长，而且吃也不比那时好。声响器在每个星期天早上出现，他用蹄子夹着一张长长的纸条，纸条上写着各类食物产量增加的数据，根据种类的不同，有的增加了百分之二百，有的增加了百分之三百，他把这些信息传达给动物们，动物们找不到怀疑他的理由，也就相信了，反正他们现在也已经记不清楚造反前是个什么样的状况了。即便不否认这些数据，但是对于动物们来说，如果能多给他们分点吃的，他们宁愿那些数字能减少些。

拿破仑现在露面的次数越来越少，动物们两个星期能见他一面就算不错了，他让声响器和另外一头猪传达他所有的命令。他现在每次出现，都会有一只小黑公鸡排在队伍的最前面来开道，主要充当号手的角色，他先要响亮地啼叫一遍“喔—喔—喔”，用来提醒大家拿破仑要发言了。据说拿破仑所住的地方，就是在庄主院子里，也是单独住在套房里，跟别的猪是分开的。他单独用餐，通常他使用的餐具是那些陈列在客厅玻璃橱柜里的带有英国王冠标志的德比瓷器，并且在他用餐的时候，有两条狗会在旁边侍奉着。他还宣布了一个命令，就是每年在他生日那天，也要像另外两个纪念日一样，鸣枪以示庆祝。

如今的拿破仑，就连称谓也有所改变，在任何时候谈到他时不能再随随便便简单直呼为“拿破仑”了，而是要在他的名字前面加上“我们的领袖”，以示对他的尊敬，其他的猪给他赋予了很多光鲜的头衔，例如“动物之父”“人类克星”“羊的保护神”“鸭子的亲朋”等。声响器在每次的演讲里都满怀深情地向动物们传达着拿破仑的种种：他的智慧是多么卓越超群，他的心肠是如何仁慈善良，他是在多么用心地爱着每个动物，尤其是对那些仍在别的庄园里忍受人类奴役和歧视的不幸动物，他倾注了更多的爱。在庄园里有了一项新的惯例，不管是新得了一个什么成就，或者是发生新的什么幸事，大家都会不约而同地把荣誉归功于拿破仑。庄园里随处都可以听见这样一些谈话，一只母鸡对另外一只母鸡说：“在我们的领袖拿破仑同志的领导下，我六天产了五只蛋”，或者在池边饮水的两只牛突然感慨道：“这水真甜，这全是拿破仑同志的英明领导所导致的。”综合了庄园里现在动物们的普遍表现和充分感受，小不点创作出了一首名为《拿破仑同志》的诗，全诗如下：

孤儿的亲朋！

幸福的源泉！

恩赐食物的上帝！

您那镇定威仪的双眼

犹如天上的太阳，

每当我仰望着您

啊！我心中满怀激情

拿破仑同志！

是您赐予

您那一切生灵的挚爱，

每日饱餐两顿，

还有那洁净的干草可以打滚，

所有的生灵不论大小，

都能在窝棚中安然入睡，

仰仗您的守护，

拿破仑同志！

我若有一头襁褓中的小猪，

不等他长大，

哪怕他才奶瓶般大，擀面杖般长，

他就应该懂得

永远对您忠心耿耿，

对，

他发出的第一声尖叫一定是

——“拿破仑同志！”

这首诗让拿破仑感到前所未有的满意，他命令手下把它同样刻在大谷仓墙上，“七诫”的对面。在诗的正上方，声响器用白漆描绘了一幅拿破仑的侧身肖像画。

这个时期，那堆木材仍旧堆在院子里，虽然温普尔极力从中牵线，拿破仑还是迟迟不作决定，继续和弗雷德里克及皮尔金顿周旋谈判。相较于皮尔金顿，弗雷德里克更急于得到这批木材，但是他又想占便宜，不愿意出合理的价钱。一个谣言又在这个时期出现：雪球就藏身在平彻菲尔德庄园，弗雷德里克先生伙同他的伙计正在计划一个偷袭动物庄园并且再次摧毁风车的阴谋，因为风车的建造让他们心生妒火。在仲夏的一天，三只鸡主动交代了一个让所有动物再次震惊的罪行，他们曾在雪球的教唆下，密谋过要杀害拿破仑同志。毫无疑问，这三只鸡被立刻处决了。在这之后，一系列的为了拿破仑同志的安全的新防范措施被执行，首先在夜里，他的每个床脚边都有一只狗守卫着，其次为了防止食物被下毒，一只名为红眼睛的小猪负责在拿破仑用餐前，品尝他要享用的每一道食物。

差不多也是在这个时候，动物们得到消息，拿破仑终于决定把那堆木材销售给皮尔金顿先生，同时他还打算同福科斯伍德庄园就某些产品签订一项长期的交换协议。温普尔先生在这次的双方交易中出了很大的力，拿破仑先生和皮尔金顿先生的关系也差不多变得相当友好了。但是动物们因为皮尔金顿是人类，怎么也不能对他产生信任，但是弗雷德里克更让他们不信任，对于这个人，动物们既怕又恨，所以，相比之下，与皮尔金顿打交道是他们更好的选择。风车工程一直都在紧张有序地进行着，随着夏末的来临，风车的建造也接近了尾声，那个关于要发生突袭的传言也愈演愈烈。传言说弗雷德里克买通了地方的官员和警察，要率领二十个完全武装的人类来袭击动物庄园，这样一旦袭击成功，他就能拿到动物庄园的地契，并且那些官员和警察也不会管的。除此以外，还有更为恐怖的信息不时地从平彻菲尔德庄园传出。费雷德里克那个冷酷无情的人类用他的动物们来进行各种各样残忍至极的实验：他活活地鞭笞死了一匹衰老的马；他故意不喂他的牛，让他们忍受饥饿；还把一条狗扔进火炉里，致使他活活烧死了；他把剃刀刀片绑在公鸡的爪子上，让他们互相打斗以供他取乐。动物们在听到这些让他们震惊的消息后，怒火中烧，根本无法忍受他们的同伴、同类竟然遭受如此的迫害，愤怒的情绪使他们斗志昂扬，他们不停地叫嚷着，想要全体出动去进攻平彻菲尔德庄园，拯救他们的伙伴，惩罚那里那些可恶的人类，把他们统统撵走。但是声响器此刻冷静地告诫大家，要充分地相信拿破仑同志的智谋策略，万不可草率行动。

但是动物们高涨的战斗热情并没有因此而消退下去，反对弗雷德里克的热潮一浪高过一浪。拿破仑终于在一个星期天早上出现在了大谷仓，他向动物们解释了他曾经的想法，他保证说从来都没有过把木材卖给弗雷德里克的想法，因为他早知道那个人是无赖，和无赖交易会有损他的尊严。他还说为了鸽子们的安全，以后出外散播造反消息时，禁止在福科斯伍德庄园的任何地方落脚。他们以前的“打倒人类”的口号现在正式更改为“干掉弗雷德里克”。到了夏季的尾声，收获小麦的时候，动物们发现了雪球干的又一件坏事，他曾在某个夜晚偷偷潜回庄园，在粮种里掺进了杂草的种子，致使杂草混迹于收获的小麦中。一只公鹅向声响器坦白了他曾是这个阴谋的参与者，之后他就立刻吞噬剧毒浆果自杀身亡了。关于雪球的那个至今他们还相信的“一级动物英雄”的荣誉，现在动物们更进一步地了解到，那就是一个神话故事，那是雪球自己在牛棚战役后散布的假消息。真实的事情其实是雪球在战争中表现得很懦弱，遭到了大伙的谴责，这个家伙压根就没有被授予过任何勋章。一些动物们再次表现出疑惑，但是声响器又再次使他们打消了这些疑虑，使他们相信是他们自己的记忆出了问题。

随着秋天的到来，庄稼开始了收割，动物们只有更加努力工作，因为风车的建造不能中断，风车在动物们竭尽全力的拼搏下终于完工了。但是建成的只是风车的主体结构部分，接下来还需要有机器设备，温普尔现在正在为设备的购买与人四处谈判。风车这项伟大的工程历经了多么坎坷的过程，所走过来的每一步都是那么艰辛，他们的经验是如此匮乏，设备是如此简陋，运气又是那么不好，还有雪球在其中捣乱，但是最后，它终于还是在动物们的集体努力下竣工了，并且是如期的，没有晚一天一刻。动物们殚精竭虑地完成风车后，满怀着无比喜悦和骄傲自豪的心情一圈一圈围着风车转，这是他们倾注了满腔的热情，挥洒了无尽的汗水取得的劳动成果，在建造的过程中数不清战胜了多少困难和挫折，此时的风车在他们的眼里比第一次建成后更加好看了，也更加牢固了，因为墙体加固了一倍以上的厚度，除非使用炸药，否则谁也不能摧毁它了。此刻他们幻想着在装完所有的设备后，他们的生活就会伴随着风车翼板带动发电机运转后而发生翻天覆地的变化。他们越想越兴奋，疲劳感顿时烟消云散，抑制不住的激动使他们连连发出胜利的呐喊，他们止不住地围着风车转圈圈。拿破仑又以他的标准队形亲临了风车现场，他以他个人的名义对为风车贡献力量的动物们表示了祝贺，并且宣布，风车命名为“拿破仑风车”。

过了两天，拿破仑命令全体动物在大谷仓集合，他给大家开了一个特别的会议。会上，他正式宣布把木材卖给了弗雷德里克，并且，明天弗雷德里克就会带领车队来这把木材拉走。动物们被这个决定震惊了，大家惊讶得说不出一句话。他们被告知，其实在这段时间，拿破仑只是在表面上同皮尔金顿非常友好，其实在私底下一直同弗雷德里克来往密切，并且早就跟他达成了秘密的协议。

这样一来，就与福科斯伍德庄园断绝了一切来往，随后，他们就发出很多侮辱性的信件给皮尔金顿。那些散播信息的鸽子再次被提醒这次要避开的是平彻菲尔德庄园，还有就是把“干掉弗雷德里克”的口号换成了“干掉皮尔金顿”。拿破仑又向动物们作了保证，那个据说动物庄园会遭受到袭击的消息完全是子虚乌有的，此外，谣传弗雷德里克虐待动物是完全无限夸张了的说法，捏造这些传言的很有可能就是雪球与他的同伙们。总之，雪球一直躲在福科斯伍德庄园里，他压根就没有去过平彻菲尔德庄园，更别说躲在那里了。他早就是皮尔金顿门下的一个名副其实的食客，在那里过着骄奢淫逸的生活。

拿破仑表面上看起来对皮尔金顿非常友好，这样迫使急切想买木材的弗雷德里克提高了十二英镑的报价，猪们对拿破仑的这个精明的计谋感到无比崇拜。声响器还说，拿破仑真正精明的是他对每个人类都不信任，即便是对弗雷德里克也是如此，原本弗雷德里克准备要用一个叫作支票的纸质东西来支付木材的钱，其实就是一张纸上写着类似保证会付款之类的承诺，但是英明的拿破仑同志岂能被这样的把戏骗了，他要求弗雷德里克用真正的面额是五英镑的钞票来支付货款，而且必须是先交钱，然后才能把货拉走。现在弗雷德里克先生已经交清了所有的货款，这些货款正好够买风车所需要的所有设备。

很快木材就被拉走了。大家在木材被全部拉走后又聚集在大谷仓开了一场会议，这次的会议很特别，只是单纯地让动物们检阅那些弗雷德里克支付的钞票。会议期间，拿破仑面带笑容，满心欢喜地端坐在那个平台上的一张草垫子上，他的胸前佩戴着他的两枚勋章，钱就整齐地码放在他身边的一个从庄主院子里的厨房拿来的瓷盘子上。动物们列队依次缓缓地走过，目不转睛地盯着，仿佛要一次看个够。拳师还伸过脑袋，用鼻子使劲嗅了嗅那堆钞票，那些轻薄的白色花纸片在他呼出的气体的搅动下，发出轻微的哗哗声。

三天后，这次温普尔的到来引发了一场可怕的骚乱。只见他脸色苍白，如死人般，老远就看见他骑着自行车沿着小路一路飞奔，到了庄园把自行车一扔，就急忙跑进拿破仑的屋子。不大一会儿，一阵仿佛要窒息了的狂怒的吼叫声从拿破仑的房间里传出来，响彻了整个庄园。关于出事的消息就如无法控制的野火迅速蔓延了整个庄园。钞票是假的！就是说弗雷德里克没有花费一分一毫就拉走了所有的木材。

拿破仑立刻把所有的动物召集来，用极度可怕的声音给弗雷德里克判处了死刑。他命令动物们，只要抓住了弗雷德里克，就把他活活地煮死。同时，他还发出了警告，在这次背信弃义的欺骗事件之后，那个奸诈的弗雷德里克很可能会随时伙同其他无耻同伴发动对动物庄园的蓄谋已久的袭击。因此，在他的部署下，每个通向庄园的路口都已经布下了岗哨。此外，一封和好信由四只鸽子送去了福科斯伍德庄园，希望能与皮尔金顿先生和好如初。

敌人的进攻就在第二天清晨开始了。那时正是动物们吃早餐的时间，一个哨兵飞奔着来报告，说弗雷德里克带领着他的伙计们已经走进了五闩大门。动物们听到汇报后立刻起身去应对战斗，毫不畏惧。这次这些人一共来了十五个，带着六支枪，动物们在这次战斗中可没有像在牛棚战役中那么轻易取胜，在他们相距还有五十码的时候就遭到了射击，可怕的枪声还有密如雨点的子弹让他们无力抵挡，拿破仑和拳师不得不努力让他们重新聚集在一起，可是很快随着更多的动物负伤，他们又被击退了。没办法他们只能退回到庄园的窝棚里躲避起来，从墙缝和木板的结疤孔里向外小心翼翼地张望着。此刻整个大牧场包括风车在内都落入了那伙人手里。拿破仑这时也有点慌神了，他默不作声，来回地踱着步子，尾巴僵直着还不停地抽搐。大家都用期盼的眼神遥望着福科斯伍德庄园，只要皮尔金顿能率人前来援助，今天就很可能转败为胜。那四只在前一天被派去送信的鸽子在这时回来了，却只带回了一张皮尔金顿亲自用铅笔写的小纸条，上面只有四个字：“你们活该。”

与此同时，再看向大牧场那里，弗雷德里克那一群人已经停在了风车周围。动物们一边窥视着那边的动静，一边惊慌绝望地小声议论着。只见那群人中有两个拿出了一根钢钎和一把大铁锤。看那架势，他们是要准备拆除风车。

拿破仑大声地安慰大家说：“他们那么做是徒劳的，我们把风车的墙体建得足够厚了，一个星期内也休想拆了它。同志们，都勇敢点。”

那两个人拿着大锤和铁钎在风车靠近底部的墙面上凿着孔。本杰明一直全神贯注地盯着那些人的一举一动。看到最后，他的神态已经开始带有戏弄的表情，且还慢慢悠悠地上下摆动着他的长长的嘴巴。

然后他开口了：“我早就猜到他们会这么干，你们知道他们正在做什么吗？不一会儿，他们就会把炸药塞进那些他们凿好的小孔里。”

动物们吓坏了，但是他们没有好的办法，现在冒着生命危险冲出窝棚不太可能，只能静观其变。很快就见那些人四下跑开了，随之而来的就是一声几乎击穿耳膜的爆炸声。震得鸽子们立刻飞上了天，除了拿破仑，其他的动物都立刻卧倒了，把脸藏了起来。过了一会儿，他们爬起来，再次看向大牧场时，只见原来风车的位置上笼罩着一团巨大的黑色烟雾。微风慢慢吹淡了烟雾后，露出了空旷，风车已经消失了！

这一幕深深地刺激了动物们，这种可耻的行为使他们狂怒不已，立刻热血沸腾，之前感到的所有胆怯和绝望，此刻完全被勇气淹没了。突然，一阵复仇的呐喊声响起，在没有命令的情况下，动物们已经等不及了，不约而同地朝敌人们径直扑过去。此次，枪林弹雨挡在他们前面，他们也不再理会，不再退缩，任由那些无情的子弹擦着他们的脑袋呼啸而去。这场战斗残酷，惨烈。动物们冒着冰雹般密集的子弹冲到了他们眼前，他们就开始用棍棒一通乱舞，同时还用沉重的靴子猛踢。动物们几乎都挂了彩，拿破仑也不例外，即使他一直在后方指挥作战，他的尾巴尖也被子弹削去一小截，还有一头牛、三只羊和两只鹅壮烈牺牲了。人也不是毫发无损，他们中有三个人被拳师的蹄铁踢破了脑袋；还有一个人被一头牛用犄角顶破了肚皮；另外还有一个人差点被杰西和蓝铃铛扯掉了裤子。拿破仑命令他那九只贴身狗护卫，利用树篱的掩护迂回包抄，敌人被突然出现在他们右翼的这群狗吓了一跳，他们气势汹汹的狂吠更是把人们吓得魂都飞了。人类开始发现快要被包围了，有危险，弗雷德里克下令同伙们趁现在还有退路，就开始撤退了。贪生怕死的敌人很快溃不成军，他们纷纷逃命。动物们一路穷追不舍，一直追到地界边上，最后还在人类慌不择路的情况下越过那片荆棘树篱时，狠狠地踹了他们几脚。

即使这场战争最后以动物们取胜为结局，但是他们个个鲜血淋漓，精疲力竭。他们一瘸一拐地往回挪着步子，路过草地，看到横躺在地上气绝了的同伴，有的动物悲伤得泪流满面。他们在风车的位置不由自主地停住了脚步，大家表情肃穆。原本矗立的风车不见了，是的，一点痕迹都没有了，那是他们艰辛拼搏才得来的成果，现在就连地基也被破坏了一部分。现场都没有落石，炸药的威力把它们不知送到了几百码外，这一次要想重建，可不像上次那么简单了，没有坍塌的石头利用了。现在风车的位置就像从未曾有过风车一般。

动物们哀叹完之后继续往庄园走，快要进庄园时，莫名其妙在战争中消失的声响器此时兴高采烈地一蹦一蹦地前来迎接他们。此时此刻，他的脸上挂着满意的微笑，他不停地晃着他的尾巴，与此同时，从窝棚那边传来一阵庄重的鸣枪声。

“开枪做什么？”拳师不解地问。

“当然是庆祝我们的胜利啊！”声响器欢快地叫道。

“胜利？什么胜利？”拳师继续问。他的膝盖还在流血，一个马蹄铁也在战斗中丢失了，他的蹄子裂开了一道大口子，他的后腿挨了足足十二颗子弹。

“什么胜利？难道我们不是刚刚把侵略者赶出了我们的地盘——神圣的动物庄园吗？同志们！”

“可是我们辛辛苦苦建造了两年的风车被他们毁了，整整两年的劳动成果就这么没了！”

“这有关系吗？只要我们愿意，我们就可以建造一座，六座都没有问题。你们还没有意识到我们干的这件事是多么伟大啊！得益于拿破仑同志的英明领导，我们脚下的这些曾经被侵略的土地再次被我们一寸一寸夺回来了！”

“可是我们夺回来的只不过原先就是我们的。”拳师说。

“这就是胜利，毫无疑问！”声响器说。

他们一瘸一拐地进到了院子里。拳师的那条挨了枪子的腿剧烈地疼痛着。但是他还在想着重建风车，他明确地知道摆在他面前的工作，这次要从打地基开始，又将是一场耗心耗力的艰苦劳动，他想象着为这项任务迅速作好了准备。但是他第一次考虑到他已经十一岁了，身体虽然还强壮，但是依旧不能与当年相提并论了。

即便刚才与声响器争论了这次战争的意义，但是在动物们看到迎风飘扬的绿旗，听到了再度响起的猎枪声，这次足足响了七下，又得到了拿破仑领袖表彰他们英勇行为的贺词后，他们似乎接受了，这场战争他们毕竟还是取得了重大的胜利。大伙为在战争中壮烈牺牲的同伴们举行了一个隆重的葬礼。拿破仑亲自走在送葬队伍的最前面，拉着灵车的是苜蓿和拳师，灵车是临时改装的四轮运货车。对胜利的庆祝活动整整持续了两天，其中包括歌咏，演讲，以及必不可少的鸣枪等。每个动物都给予了食物奖励，也算是特别的礼物，家禽类的是两盎司谷子，每只狗发的是三块饼干，剩下的每个动物被赐予的是美味的苹果。这场战争，拿破仑把它命名为“风车战役”，同时创立了一个新勋章——“绿旗勋章”，并把它颁发给了自己。就这样，钞票事件带来的不幸早就被战争胜利带来的兴奋给掩埋了。

猪们在庆祝完胜利的几天后，无意间在庄园主的地下室里发现了一箱威士忌，在他们刚入住这里的时候可是没有搜索到。当天晚上，令每一个动物都感到惊奇的是，一阵嘹亮的歌声从庄园主的院子里传了出来，并且还有《英格兰兽》的调子。大概是九点半的时候，拿破仑被有的动物发现戴着一顶旧的圆顶礼帽从后门走出来，然后飞快地围着院子跑了一圈后又闪进了门内消失了。第二天的庄主院子里静悄悄的，没有一头猪走动，直到九点多的时候，只有声响器出现了，他看起来状态不怎么好，步履缓慢，神情呆滞，垂头丧气，浑身上下就连尾巴也有气无力地耷拉着，整个一个病入膏肓的样子。他召集了所有的动物，悲哀且沉痛地告诉了他们一个不幸的消息——拿破仑同志病危了！

哀悼的哭声立即响起来。动物们无比关心拿破仑同志的身体状况，庄园主院子的门外铺着干草，他们经过时都踮起了蹄尖。他们的双眼饱含着泪花，大家互相询问，万一伟大的拿破仑领袖不在了，他们可怎么办？之前雪球要谋害拿破仑的消息此刻又传开了，这次他费尽心机却是成功地把毒药掺在了拿破仑的食物里。十一点，声响器作为拿破仑的发言人，代他宣布了他在弥留之际的最后一项措施，也是一道神圣的法令：饮酒者必须处以死刑。

好在到了晚上，拿破仑的病情就有了好转，到了第二天早上，声响器就告慰大家，拿破仑正在康复的过程中，很顺利的是，到了晚上，拿破仑的身体就正常了，并且能开始工作了。又过了一天，有动物透露，拿破仑曾指示温普尔到威灵登购买一些关于蒸馏及酿造酒类方面的小册子。过了一个星期，拿破仑下令，把苹果园那边的小牧场加以翻耕，但是之前是把这个小牧场定为退休动物的放牧场的。现在拿破仑说那个牧场的地力已经耗尽了，需要重新翻种，没过多久，拿破仑的真实目的被揭晓了，他其实想在那里种大麦。

在这期间，在一个月明星稀的夜晚，发生了一件怪事：大概是在夜里的十二点多了，一声巨响，听着应该是什么物体跌落的声音，动物们纷纷冲出自己的窝棚来寻找声音的发源地，他们不可思议地看到声响器昏迷不醒地倒在地上，他的旁边横着一张断成了两半的梯子，离他很近的大谷仓墙上，写着“七诫”，他手边上放着一盏马灯，一把油漆刷子，还有一罐泼了一地的白漆。几条狗看到此景后立刻把声响器包围了起来，等到他能够自己走路了，就护送他回到了庄主的院子里。动物们对这是什么情况迷糊不解，只有老本杰明上下摆动着他的长嘴，一副心知肚明的样子，似乎那其中的秘密他早就领会了，但是他就是这样，什么都不会说出来。

穆尔丽在几天后自己给自己读七诫时发现，原来还有一条戒律她之前记错了，其他的动物也都记错了，他们原本记得第五条中写的是“凡动物一律不准饮酒”，其实真的戒律要多出两个字，应该是“凡动物一律不准饮酒过量”。

第九章

过了这么久，拳师的蹄子还是没有好，那个裂口依然在愈合中。风车的又一轮重建工作在庆祝活动结束的第二天就开始了。拳师更加卖命地干活，他一天都不休息，绝不闲着，而且为了荣誉，他忍着伤痛干活，都不让其他的动物察觉到。但是到了晚上，他偷偷地告诉苜蓿，他的蹄子疼痛得难以忍受了，苜蓿只好把草药嚼碎了敷在他的蹄子上。苜蓿和本杰明都劝他不要再这么拼命了，苜蓿告诉他：“一个马的肺是不能这样长期持续下去的。”但是这些劝告对他来说根本没用，他说能够在他退休的时候看到风车顺利地运转起来，是他现在唯一的一个尚未实现的真切的志向。

最近关于退休的讨论越来越多，当初在第一次制定动物庄园律法的时候，对退休的年龄给出了规定：猪和马是十二岁，牛十四岁，狗九岁，羊七岁，鸡和鹅五岁。并且律法里还包括了要发放充足的养老津贴，虽然直到现在也没有真正靠养老津贴生活的动物，据说养老津贴很丰厚，每匹马的是每天五磅谷子，到了冬天为每天十五磅干草，而且公告节假日还会额外发一根胡萝卜，或者有机会得到一个苹果，拳师在明年夏天就能正式退休了。可是现在，苹果园那边的本来作为退休休息地的牧场现在已经空出来作为大麦地了，有传言说会在大牧场的一角围起来建立一个退休动物的放牧场。

那个冬天跟去年一样难熬，同样寒冷，而且食物更加短缺。所有的动物都被削减了食物份额，这里面不包含猪和狗。声响器不论在什么情况下都能向动物们证明，他们的粮食并没有短缺，即使现在对粮食的供应上有了一些调整（他不承认这是“减少”，只说是“调整”），这也是暂时的。他说，在食物分配上过分教条平均是违反了兽主义的原则的。他发出尖细的嗓音拖出一连串的数字，有力地证明了现在和琼斯时代的差距，那是进步了一大截啊，现在他们拥有更多的燕麦，更多的干草和更多萝卜，而且现在的工作时间比以前短，饮用的水质更好了，动物们的寿命也长了，后代的存活率也升上去了，窝棚有了更多的干草，所以更加舒适了，就连跳蚤也明显减少了对他们的侵扰。他说了这么多的话，动物们都没有感到怀疑，琼斯时代是什么样子已经基本上从他们的记忆中抹去了。他们如今的生活其实常常食不果腹，饥寒交迫，眼睛一睁就开始干活，一直干到睡觉。但是他们乐意相信以前的日子比这更糟糕，更窘迫。最后声响器永远不会忘了指出一点，至关重要的一点，就是现在他们是自由的，是不受奴役的。

秋天的时候，四头母猪基本上同时产了崽，加起来一共是三十一个小猪崽，所以现在需要饲养的动物更多了。拿破仑是院子里唯一的种猪，小猪们清一色的都是小花斑，他们的身世就不难猜测了。公告已经出来了，动物们都知道再过一段时间，把砖头和木材买齐后，就专门给小猪们盖一间教室，位置在庄园主院子的花园里。目前拿破仑在院子的厨房里亲自教导他们，他们平时被勒令禁止同别的年幼的动物玩耍，活动区域基本是在花园里，主要就是健身。一条新的规定在这个时候出台了：当一头猪在路上与别的动物碰上了，那么其他的动物就必须站到路边，还有，猪们不论身份地位，都享有一项特权——在星期天能在尾巴上系饰带。

今年的收成不错，但是依然筹不到足够的资金。因为要用钱的地方很多，盖教室要花钱买砖头、石灰和沙子，此外，风车所需的机械设备也需要资金，现在就得慢慢积攒了。还有一些零碎的钱要花，比如只有庄主院子里才需要的灯油和蜡烛，还有拿破仑自己才能享用的糖（他说会发胖，所以严禁别的猪吃），除此以外，还有很多日常使用的易耗品，诸如工具、钉子、绳子、煤、铁丝、铁块和狗食饼干等等，这些东西看起来不起眼，一个也不值几个钱，但是仔细算起来也是不小的开支。已经卖掉了一个干草垛和一部分收回来的土豆，而且每周鸡蛋的供应数量从之前的四百枚涨到了六百枚，但是这样造成了这一年中，所孵出的小鸡数量没有办法使鸡的总数量保持原来的标准。动物们继去年十二月份减过一次口粮后，二月份又遭到了一次削减，为了省下买灯油的钱，窝棚里早就不允许点灯了。但是那些措施根本没怎么影响猪们，他们过得似乎还是挺滋润的，而且体重还在增加。二月末的一天下午，隔着院子就能闻到一股无比诱惑的香味从厨房边上的酿酒坊里飘出来，只是早在琼斯时代那间房子就被弃用了。动物们从来没有闻到过这样的香味，有的动物说只有蒸煮大麦才会发出这样的味道。他们一边贪婪地猛吸这股香气，一边猜测期盼着他们的晚餐就是一锅已经熬好的热乎乎的大麦糊糊。结果不但猜测错误，大麦糊糊没有出现，而且就在那个星期天，新的通告使他们得知，从今往后所有的大麦都得储存起来留给猪们。在此之前，那片苹果园旁边的小牧场早就种上了大麦。不久，就又有消息传出来，现在每头猪每天都能分到一品脱啤酒，拿破仑则会把啤酒装在有英国王冠标志的带盖汤碗里，足有半加仑之多。

动物们现在要忍受的艰难困苦越来越多，但是他们只要一想到现在生活的高贵和自由，他们似乎觉得忍受还是可以继续的，都能说得过去。如今拿破仑颁发又一项新指令，每周举行一次名义上自发的游行，目的单纯就是为了庆祝动物庄园的斗争和胜利，这样一来，歌声多了，演讲多了，游行也多了。一到指定时间，所有的动物都必须放下手头的工作，拿破仑带领着他们，以军队的队形绕着庄园的地界齐步前进，队形是精心排列的，那只小黑公鸡昂首在前面开路，后面理所应当是猪带头，然后是马，其次是牛，再往后是羊，最后是家禽类的。狗永远都在队伍的两边。苜蓿和拳师经常要一边一个用嘴叼着那面标记着蹄子和犄角的绿旗，现在上面又多了一条标语——“拿破仑同志万寿无疆！”等大家围着庄园转完圈后，下一个活动是赞颂拿破仑同志的诗歌朗诵，接着声响器就会把最新的粮食增产数据报告给大家，偶尔还要鸣枪表示庆贺。如果有哪些动物抱怨了，比方说认为这是纯属浪费时间，或者长时间站在寒风中表示出了不满的情绪等等（在没有狗和猪在附近的时候，有个别的动物会这样），绵羊们此刻就会表现出他们是游行活动的忠实拥护者，他们会爆发出气势凶猛的叫声堵住那些动物的嘴，“四条腿好，两条腿坏”被他们重复了一遍又一遍。其实在大部分时候，动物们对这些庆祝活动还是很感兴趣的，毕竟这些活动能让他们真正有了翻身做主人的感觉，他们还是满心欢喜的，他们所付出的，所要忍受的一切是为他们自己争利益，这让他们多少心理平衡些。在闹哄哄的活动中，嘹亮的歌声，浩浩荡荡的队伍，声响器列举的一系列数字，不断的鸣枪庆贺，黑公鸡的啼叫，迎风飘扬的绿旗，参与这一切，看到听到这一切，动物们就暂时忽略了肚子中其实还空空如也，至少部分时间是这样的。

到了四月，动物庄园宣布成立为共和国，那么选举一位总统是当务之急，领袖拿破仑当选是众望所归的，因为候选人只有他一个。就在同一天，一些能够进一步揭露雪球与琼斯相互勾结细节的文件被翻了出来，从这些证据来看，雪球不仅仅是动物们原先所想象的那么单纯了，不单是利用恶毒的诡计妄想输掉牛棚战役及与人类狼狈为奸，公然背离动物主义，与他们为敌。他真正的身份是那支人类队伍的首领，高呼着“人类万岁”可耻地与动物们混战，至于他背上的那道伤痕，有些动物还是记得的，其实是拿破仑同志不顾个人安危咬的。

很快就又到了仲夏时节，消失了数年的乌鸦摩西竟又突然出现在了庄园里。这么多年过去了，他依旧一成不变，不干活，蹲在一根树桩子上，扑棱棱地拍打着他的黑翅膀，要是谁愿意听，就用同以前一样的语气给动物们讲蜜饯山的故事，一旦讲起来，就止不住了。他一脸郑重且煞有介事地说：“看那里，同志们！”还配合动作，他的大嘴朝着天空那里一指，接着继续，“就是那儿，你们看得见的那团乌云的另一边——那座蜜饯山就在那里。那是个幸福的国度，那会是我们的最后归宿，只有在那里，我们这些可怜的动物才能永远地摆脱辛苦的劳作。”他甚至还声称自己去过那里，源于一次机缘巧合的高空飞翔，他说他看见了那里的苜蓿永远那么鲜嫩，还看见了亚麻籽饼和方糖长在树篱上。很多动物对摩西的说法抱着宁愿相信的态度，因为他们现在的生活太苦了，经常饥肠辘辘，疲惫不堪，所以有那么一个比这里要好得多的地方也是合情合理的。只是猪们对待摩西的态度让其他的动物揣测不明，虽然他们对摩西的话报以嘲笑的姿态，认为蜜饯山的说法是一派胡言，但是他们却允许他继续留在庄园，可以不用干活，并且还每天给他发放七分之一升的啤酒作为补贴。

拳师比以前更加卖力地工作，在此期间他已经把蹄掌上的伤口养好了。在这一年中，动物们真实的生活就是像奴隶一样辛苦劳作，除了日常大大小小的事情和风车重建工程以外，在三月份，他们又多了个新的工程，就是给小猪们建造教室。他们很多次饿着肚子还要继续长时间工作，有时真的难以忍受，但是拳师从来没有表现出来，他的步伐从来不会蹒跚踉跄。他的言行举止也没有表现出他的气力有所下降，但是细心观察不难发现：他的皮毛没有以前那样光亮，曾经粗壮的臀部和大腿上部如今也松垮收缩了。动物们也发现了这一点，他们有的说，“拳师会在春草长出来后再强壮起来的”，但是，到了春天，他们说的话却没有成真。他通常会独自一个把一块石头沿着斜坡往矿顶上拉，拼尽全身的力气去承受整个巨石压在他身上的力量，此刻他的嘴唇会一动一动，仿佛在说他的那句座右铭：“我要更加努力工作”，这应该就是支撑着他坚持下去的力量，除此之外，他更多的就是沉默不语。他对待苜蓿和本杰明的“保重身体”的劝告仍然持置之不理的态度。眼看着他的十二岁生日就要来临，这时他更是一门心思地想要在退休之前攒足够的石头，别的事情都不放在心上。

没过多久，拳师就出事了，那是在一个夏天的傍晚，动物得知这个不幸的消息时，天色已经暗下来了，在这之前，有动物看见他又独自一个走出马厩，拉着一车石头去了风车那里。仅仅几分钟，两只鸽子风风火火地飞回来，证实了之前的消息是千真万确的：“拳师倒下了！他侧躺在那里，无法站立起来！”

一大半的动物们不等听完就冲了出去，直奔着建造风车的那个小山包。他们飞跑着来到拳师身边，他就躺在那儿，身子卡在了两根车辕之间，他虚弱得连头都抬不起来，只伸着脖子，低垂的双眼呈现呆滞迷离的目光，汗水浸透了他的整个腹部，一股细流状的鲜血从他的嘴角不断溢出。苜蓿哭泣着跪倒在他身边。

“拳师！你怎么啦？”苜蓿哭喊着。

“没有什么要紧的，应该只是我的肺不行了。”拳师有气无力地回答道，“我明白我最多还有一个月的时间了，我一直盼着能退休，这是我的实话。即使我不在了，我想，我已经攒了不少备用的石头了，你们到时候一定能建成风车。本杰明也老了，也许我们可以做个伴一起退休，如果他们愿意的话。”

苜蓿快速地反应过来：“快，谁去都行，快去告诉声响器，这里出事了，我们必须马上得到救援！”

苜蓿和本杰明留下来照看拳师，其他的动物即刻都跑去院子里找声响器汇报这个紧急的情况。本杰明默默地躺在拳师身边，甩动他的长尾巴来为拳师驱赶苍蝇。过了大概一刻钟的时间，声响器就怀着关心和同情来到了出事现场，他说拿破仑同志也知道了这件事，而且立刻开始着手安排威灵登的医院，把拳师送过去治疗，所以现在他没有过来，就由声响器代表他表达对拳师这样一位最忠诚的朋友遭受如此不幸而感到伤心难过。动物们忐忑不安，除了莫丽和雪球外，他们谁也没有离开过庄园，况且，他们无法相信人类，不愿他们已经受伤的伙伴落入人类的控制中。声响器又开始了他的说服工作，他说庄园里没有兽医，只能在威灵登找到这样的医生来医治拳师，这样才能更快地将他治好，动物们也就这么相信了。半个小时后，拳师稍稍缓过一点劲，吃力地支撑起他虚弱不堪的身体，挣扎着挪回他的马厩，苜蓿和本杰明已经为他铺好了柔软的稻草床。

拳师在以后的两天内一直躺在稻草上，连棚子都没出去过。猪们在浴室的药柜里翻出了一大瓶红色的药片，送来让苜蓿每天两次在饭后喂给拳师吃。到了晚上，苜蓿和本杰明就陪着拳师，苜蓿陪他聊聊天，本杰明则为他驱赶苍蝇。拳师在交谈中提到他并不感到后悔，即使他的身体已经这样。倘若他能完全康复，就希望自己能继续活上三年，在那专为退休员工准备的大牧场的一角里静静地过完余下的日子，那时候，他就第一次真正有空闲时间来学习知识，增强心智。他还说，他一定会穷尽他最后所有的精力学会字母表上除了A、B、C、D以外的二十二个英文字母。

苜蓿和本杰明只有在工作之余才能陪伴拳师。一天中午，动物们正在萝卜地里除草，猪在一边监工，突然，就看见本杰明从棚子那边狂奔过来，嘴里还在大吼大叫，动物们都很吃惊，他们从没有见过本杰明这样激动，事实上这是头一次，就连他奔跑也是动物们第一次见。他扯着嗓子喊叫：“快，快，快来呀！拳师要被他们拉走了！”动物们一听，也顾不得听猪下命令了，大家匆忙扔下手里的活往窝棚那边赶。到了院子里，果然见到一辆大篷货车，车身上写着字，有两匹马拉着，一个头戴低檐圆礼帽的男人坐在驾驶的位置上，他的脸上写满了奸诈狡猾，此时，拳师的窝棚已经空了。

动物们纷纷围到车的四周，异口同声地对着车里喊道：“再见，拳师，再见了！”

本杰明气愤地叫道：“笨蛋！一群笨蛋！”他绕着动物们急得又蹦又跳，又用蹄子不断地跺着地面撒气，“你们没看见车上的字吗？简直蠢透了！”

动物们一下子安静了，场面冷了下来，大家都开始关注车上面的字。穆尔丽开始拼读那些字。但是本杰明着急地一把把他推开，他的声音划开了死寂的气氛：“‘威灵登镇，阿尔弗雷德·西蒙兹，屠马商兼煮胶商，皮革和骨粉的供应商。’你们难道还不明白吗？他们要把拳师拉到屠马场去！”

顿时，动物们都开始号啕大哭，场面一度失控。这时，那个坐在马车上的人突然狠狠地一抽马鞭，那两匹马拉着大篷车轻松地就向外面跑去。全体动物跟在车后面，边掉眼泪边呼喊。苜蓿竭力地挤到最前面。车子开始加速，苜蓿试图跟上马车的车轮，但是她看似粗壮的四肢奋力狂奔也只是达到了慢跑的速度，苜蓿绝望地哭喊着：“拳师！拳师！拳师！拳师！”拳师在这个时候应该是听到了外面的吵闹，他的面孔出现在大篷车后面的一个小窗户上，他的脸上有一道顺着鼻梁生出的白毛。

“拳师！”苜蓿看到他，更加急切地哭喊，声音凄厉，“出来！拳师，你快出来！他们是拉你去送命的！”

所有的动物也都跟着苜蓿哭喊，“出来，拳师，快出来！”大篷车在不断加速，眼见动物们就与大篷车拉开了距离。他们不能判定拳师是否听见了并且懂了苜蓿和他们喊叫的意思。但是不一会儿，拳师的脸从窗户上消失了，紧接着一阵马蹄蹬踹的声音从车内传了出来。没猜错的话，他是想要以此踢出一条生路来。可是天啊，他早已没了往昔的威风，想当初，只需几下，他就可以把这辆车踢成碎片，碎得可以跟火车杆子相比了，现在尽管他用尽了全力，但是大篷车没有一点损坏，马蹄的蹬踢声越来越弱，最终消失了。绝望的动物们转而去哀求那两匹拉车的马，祈求他们能停下来，“兄弟们，同志们！求求你们了，别把你的兄弟拉去送死啊！”但是不管动物们已经多么声嘶力竭，那两匹愚蠢的家伙根本对将要发生的事情一无所知，只是一味地向后抿起耳朵加速奔跑。拳师的面孔再也没有出现在那扇小窗户上。有的动物想起去关五闩大门，但是为时晚矣，瞬间大篷车就冲出了大门，扬起了一路的尘土。就这样，他们把拳师拉走了，从此，拳师就再也没有出现过。

三天后，动物们从通告中得知，拳师在威灵登医院去世了。声响器告诉大家，在拳师弥留之际他一直守在一边，拳师得到的照顾是作为一匹马能够得到的精细入微的最好照料了。

他边说边用一只蹄子擦去挂在眼角的一滴泪，“那是我所见过的最感动的一幕了，我一直在他的床边守着，直到他闭上双眼，在他生命的最后一刻，他虚弱得几乎连说话的力气都没有，但是他还是拼尽全力，在我的耳边说了几句话，对，那应该算是临终的遗言吧，他说他唯一的遗憾就是没能坚持把风车建完。他说：‘前进，同志们！以造反的名义前进，动物庄园万岁！伟大领袖拿破仑万岁！拿破仑同志永远是对的！’”

话说到这里，声响器突然住了口，脸色立刻变得严肃起来，他先是沉默了一小会儿，用他的闪着精光的小眼睛在动物中扫视了一圈，又接着他的发言。

他说，他了解到，关于拳师去镇里治疗有另一个版本的谣传，这个谣传荒唐可笑，用意歹毒。动物们看到了大篷货车上有“屠马商”的标志，就妄加断言拳师被送到了屠马场。他气愤地跳来跳去，还一边甩动着他的尾巴，他说，他难以相信有的动物会这么愚蠢糊涂，根本不用大脑思考。他指责动物们，说仅凭这一点，就说明动物们根本不能真正了解他们敬爱的领袖拿破仑同志。事情的真相是这样的，那辆车以前的确是一个屠马商的，但是现在被兽医院买下来了，他们还没来得及把车身上的字涂改掉，这才造成了大家的误解，是个误会。

听完声响器的这番解释，动物们那颗一直难过的心终于平静了，长长地舒了一口气。接着声响器又讲了很多关于拳师临终前的细节，比如他在医院都受到了怎样无微不至的照顾，以及拿破仑同志是怎样地大方，怎样地不考虑价格给他用贵重的药品。动物们多少心里好受了一点，他们之前一直对拳师的死耿耿于怀，现在听到他是这么安详地走，就感到心宽了许多，所以对于声响器的话没有丝毫的怀疑了。

那个星期天早上的会议，拿破仑竟然亲自出席了，他宣读了一篇哀悼拳师的简短的悼词。之后他对动物们解释说，因为某些原因，拳师同志的遗体已经不能拉回来安葬在庄园里了。但是根据他的指示，已经用庄园主院子里的月桂花编成了一个大花圈，放在拳师的墓前。猪们还准备就在这几天专门给拳师开一个追悼宴会。最后，拿破仑引用了拳师生前的座右铭结束了他的讲话，“我要更加努力工作”和“拿破仑同志永远是对的”，他希望所有的动物都把这两句话当成是自己的座右铭，激励自己，并认真贯彻落实。

到了已经确定好的追悼宴会的那天，庄主的院子里又来了一辆从威灵登驶来的马车，这次是杂货商送来了一个大木箱。到了晚上，院子里又传出了闹哄哄的歌声，之后，还伴随着激烈的吵架声音，一直持续到夜里十一点多，在一阵玻璃破碎的可怕声音后，归于平静。第二天到了中午，庄主院子里还是一片沉寂。与此同时，一个小道消息快速地传出来，猪们不知道从哪又搞到一笔钱，买了一箱威士忌给他们自己享用。

第十章

恍惚间几个年头就过去了。时光流逝，岁月穿梭，现如今，还能记住造反前的那些旧日子的只剩下苜蓿、本杰明、乌鸦摩西和一些猪，那些寿命短的动物早已经被岁月带走了。

我们熟识的那些动物中，穆尔丽死了，蓝铃铛、杰西还有钳子都死了。就连琼斯也死在了别的地方，据说是国内的另外一个地方的一个酒鬼家中。雪球再也没被提起，拳师也被遗忘了，现在只有零星几个曾经与他们交好的动物还会记得他们。如今的苜蓿到了老年，身材胖得走了样，关节僵硬，一团眼屎总是挂在眼角。其实，她都超过退休年龄两岁了，但是依然还在工作，事实是，没有任何一个动物真正退休。关于那个留给退休动物大牧场的一角以供休养的议题早就不被提起。拿破仑现在已经达到了三百多磅，是一头成年的公猪了。声响器的眼睛被脸上的赘肉挤得快要睁不开了。只有老本杰明，似乎没什么变化，只是他鼻子和嘴旁边的毛比以前灰了点，他在拳师死后，更加不喜言语，对事情更加漠不关心。

虽然涨幅没有当时预算的那么大，但是庄园里现在的畜生数量还是比以前多了。现在造反对于后来出生的这些年轻的动物来说，就像一个传说，只是口口相传，模糊不清；至于那些买进的动物，他们来到这个庄园前，压根就没有听说过造反的事。庄园里现在除了苜蓿外，还有三匹马，只是这三匹马太愚蠢，没有一个能认识字母表中B以后的字母，但是就劳动来说，他们还是不错的，他们的身姿健壮挺拔，温顺又积极能干，是大家普遍赞许的好同志。他们对苜蓿格外敬重，近乎是那种孝顺的方式。对于造反和动物主义的说法，只要是他们能够得到的信息，他们几乎全盘接受，特别是出自苜蓿之口的。但是有一个问题，对于这些信息，他们是否能够理解，就不得而知了。

综观现在的动物庄园，一派繁荣的景象，更为有效的组织也在某些动物的谋划下建立起来了。动物们又从皮尔金顿先生手里买来了两块地，扩大了自己的领土范围，风车也终于在大家的努力和期盼下建造起来了，但是却并不是用来发电的，而是被用来碾磨谷物，为庄园带来了不少的收入。他们还购买了属于他们自己的一台脱粒机和一台草料升降机，此外他们也新建了不少各种各样的建筑物。就连温普尔也为他自己置办了一辆轻便的双轮马车，以方便他来庄园。动物们现在正在致力于建造一架新的风车，据说这架风车会被用来发电。但是雪球当年曾经提及的那种奢华的生活——有电灯和具备冷热水的窝棚，每周只用工作三天，如今不会再被提起，因为拿破仑曾经批评过这样的想法，说它与动物主义精神是相互抵触的，动物主义倡导纯粹的幸福，而纯粹的幸福是要从勤奋的工作和简朴的生活中获得的。

整个庄园看似已经很富裕了，但是不知是什么原因，在动物们身上仿佛一点也体现不出来，当然这里是不包括猪和狗的。也许其中会有一小点原因是因为有那么多的猪和狗吧。动物们富不起来，并不是他们不劳动，相反，他们总是没完没了地干活，以他们自己的方式劳动，就如声响器反反复复说的那样，他在庄园的监督和组织方面有数不尽的活要干。他说的那些工作，很多的动物都理解不了，他解释说是因为很多动物太过无知了。比如，声响器说，猪们每天会花大把的精力放在处理那些所谓的“档案”“报告”“会议记录”还有“备忘录”诸如此类的神秘事务上。那些大片大片的纸张，上面必须写上满满的字，等到写满了字以后，又得把它们扔进火炉里烧掉。声响器一直强调他们所做的那些对庄园的幸福安康起到至关重要的作用。其实直到现今，无论是猪还是狗，都没有在生产劳动中到前线贡献出一点力量，生产一粒粮食；但他们的数量众多，胃口也出奇地好。

其他的动物，他们的生活在他们看来还是没有变化，经常忍饥挨饿，还是睡在草里，喝着池塘里的水，在田地里忙碌劳作；夏天要忍受蚊蝇的侵袭，到了冬天也不能幸免于寒冷的侵袭。他们当中那些年老的动物会经常在回忆中搜索关于早期造反的那些日子，就是琼斯刚被驱逐的那段时间，那时的情况和现在相比，是好，还是糟呢？但是时间过去得太久了，他们怎么也想不起来了。现在的生活水平没有什么可以拿来参照的，只有声响器时不时地给他们报告一些数字，通过这些数字，声响器一直不变地告诉他们，他们的生活是越来越好的，肯定是越来越好的。动物们对于这些表现得难以理解，但是大多时候，他们没有时间仔细揣摩这些事情，活儿太多了。只有老本杰明说他能记起过往发生的所有事情，他还说他知道过去的那些事物不会有多好，现在的也不会，将来更不会有多好，但也不会差到哪去。他告诉大家说，饥饿、痛苦、磨难、失望是现实生活中无法改变的法则。

动物们依然有他们自己的念想，更准确地说，他们依然有那种作为动物庄园里一员的那种自身优越感，这种荣誉让他们为之骄傲自豪。因为他们的庄园在英格兰这个国家里是独一无二的，是由他们动物自己来管理的，对于这一点，所有的动物，连最年轻的，还有那些从外面买进来的，来自十英里甚至二十英里以外的新成员，都沾沾自喜，钦佩有加。猎枪的声音一旦响起，那种自豪就荡漾在他们的心中，再看到象征动物主义的绿旗在旗杆上飘扬时，那种激动的感觉就难以言表了。此时，他们一定会把话题转向往昔的辉煌岁月，经过时间的沉淀，或许我们该称为史诗。从起初的琼斯遭到驱逐，再到“七诫”的镌刻，然后是那几场与人类的胜利作战。他们的信仰一直在，没有改变过，他们的那些梦想从来一个都没有忘记过，当年老少校预言的“动物共和国”，以及那时人类的足迹将消失在所有的英格兰的绿色原野上，这些一直都是他们不曾忘却的，他们相信这些预言终将成为现实，也许在不久的将来，也许现在的动物们有生之年都等不来这一天了，但是它一定会实现的。现在庄园里的每一个动物都知道它是一个事实，《英格兰兽》这支曲子已经又在动物们中悄悄传唱开了，虽然是小声地哼唱，偷偷地，不敢高歌，但是这是个事实。他们现在的生活仍旧困苦，并且他们抱有的希望依旧没有全部实现，但是有个信念在他们心中支撑着他们，他们知道他们跟别的动物是不一样的，虽然没有足够的食物来填饱他们的肚子，但是那也不是因为食物进了人类的肚子；虽然还要辛苦地劳动，但是这些劳动是为了他们自己，并不是人类。他们都是四条腿的动物，没有主仆之分，他们所有的动物都是平等的。

初夏的一天，声响器把绵羊群带了出去，他领着他们来到庄园的另一头，那里是一片荒地，地里遍布着新鲜的桦树苗。声响器在一边监督，绵羊们在那里足足啃了一整天的树叶。到了傍晚，声响器对他们说，天气暖和了，就可以留在那里过夜了。就这样，声响器自己回到了庄园里。他对其他的动物解释说，绵羊们正在学习一首新歌，需要他秘密教授。于是，整整一个星期，绵羊们都不见一丝踪影，声响器在白天也是不照面的。

在一个愉快的傍晚，绵羊们回到了庄园。那时，动物们刚刚结束了一天辛苦的劳作往庄园里走，突然一声透着惊恐的马的嘶鸣在院子中响起，动物们吓得止住了脚步，有的动物听出那是苜蓿的声音，又一声嘶鸣响起，动物们立刻焦急地往院子里狂奔过去，然后，他们也目睹了苜蓿眼见的那一幕：

一头猪正在用他的两条后腿走路。

是的，那是声响器。他似乎还没有习惯用两条腿支撑他那肥硕的身体，虽然看起来很笨拙，但还是能保持着平衡的，此刻他正溜达着要穿过院子。不大一会儿，排成一长队的猪从庄园主院子门口走过，他们都是用两条后腿在走路，其中有的猪走得还不错，有的走得还不够稳当，看起来他们应该需要一根棍子支撑着。不过，他们都算成功地绕着院子走了一圈。伴着那只小黑公鸡尖细的啼叫声和那群狗可怕的吠声，拿破仑同志粉墨登场，他的那些贴身侍卫又蹿又跳地围在他周围，他则挺直着身子，带着一种强大威风的气场，用那饱含傲慢的小眼神在全场中扫视了一圈。

一根鞭子被夹在他的蹄趾中。

此刻的院子气压极低，动物们吓得大气不敢喘一下，四周静悄悄的，惊讶夹杂着恐惧弥漫在动物们中间，他们下意识地挤在一起，看着猪们排着长长的队伍在院子中缓慢地行走。现在的情形仿佛是世界已经被颠倒了。动物们在刚刚经历了惊讶—恐惧—困惑这一系列的心理活动后，稍稍地缓过神来，然后他们顾不得那么多，就要开始发出抗议，要知道在以前，他们会顾及对狗的恐惧，还有他们长年累月养成的不抱怨任何事、从不批评任何做法的习惯，但是现在，他们真的要不顾一切了。然而，绵羊们仿佛就在此时接到了信号似的，赶在动物们抗议之前，猛然爆发了气势汹汹的叫喊声：

“四条腿好，两条腿更好！四条腿好，两条腿更好！四条腿好，两条腿更好！”

这叫声冲天的咩咩声持续了长达五分多钟，等到绵羊们安静下来后，那些排成长队的猪早已经走回了庄园主的房子里了，表示抗议的机会也就随之流产了。

苜蓿用她的鼻子碰了碰本杰明的肩膀，本杰明感觉到后，回过头去，他看见苜蓿的本就昏花的双眼比以前更加灰暗，苜蓿轻轻拽着他的鬃毛，把他拉到了写着“七诫”的大谷仓的那一头，一路上没有言语。他们面对着涂过柏油的墙壁站着，静静地凝视着墙上用白漆写下的字。

一两分钟过后，还是苜蓿先开了口：“我的眼睛越来越昏花了，虽然我以前也认不全这墙上的字，但现在我还是觉得这上面的字跟以前不一样了，本杰明，你看看这墙上的‘七诫’和以前一样吗？”

这一次，本杰明没有拒绝，和以往真不一样，他把墙上的字念给苜蓿听，如今的那面墙上只剩下一条戒律，其他的全不见了。那条戒律是这样写的：

凡动物一律平等

但有些动物比其他动物更加平等

第二天，那些负责庄园监督工作的猪，个个的蹄子上都夹着一根鞭子，由于明白了那条戒律，动物们在面对猪们的做法时也就不会再大惊小怪。听说，猪们买了一台无线电供他们自己使用，并开始着手准备安装一部电话，此外，对于他们还订阅了《约翰牛报》《花边新闻报》和《每日镜报》，动物们也不觉得奇怪；看到拿破仑嘴里叼着烟斗，在庄园主院子里的花园里漫步，动物们也不稀奇。还有，猪们穿着从庄主屋子里的衣柜里翻出来的琼斯先生的衣服；拿破仑也公然将一件黑上衣和一条猎装裤套在了自己身上，还绑上了皮绑腿；一头深得他宠爱的母猪也穿上了曾经琼斯太太仅在星期天才舍得穿上的一件波纹绸连衣裙。面对如今猪们种种的行为，动物们都选择了接受。

很多轻便的双轮马车在一周后的某个下午驶进了庄园的大门。原来这是一个应邀来参观考察的代表团，成员是邻近的一些庄园主。他们被带领着参观了庄园的每一个地方。他们对所参观到的这些地方都给予了极高的评价，尤其是风车。动物们一直都在萝卜地里拔草，他们尽量把头低下去，几乎碰到了地面，根本无法猜测他们这么做是害怕猪呢，还是更害怕那些来参观的人，但是，这些不影响他们认真而卖力地工作。

到了晚上，一阵阵的欢声笑语和热闹的唱歌声从庄园主的院子里传出来。动物们也被这突然来到的混杂的声音所吸引，这是人类和动物首次在和平的关系下聚在一起，究竟会发生什么事情呢？好奇心驱使他们不约而同地朝着庄园主院子的花园溜去，并且是以极轻的脚步走过去的。

一直走到门口，或许是因为害怕，他们都停下了脚步，苜蓿大着胆子带头走进去，其他的动物在后面小心地跟着，他们踮着蹄尖走到了房子边上，一些个头大点的动物就能透过餐厅窗户看见屋子里面的情形。那里面，六个庄园主和六头地位显赫的猪围坐在一张长桌边，那个桌子顶端代表东道主的位子上毫无疑问坐着的是拿破仑。猪们以一副相当悠闲自在的姿态坐在椅子上。他们应该是饶有兴趣地在玩牌类的游戏，中间偶尔会暂停，显然是为了干杯，他们之间在不停地传着一把大酒壶，酒壶里盛着啤酒，然后啤酒又被不断地斟满每个杯子。他们太过于专注，以至于根本没有发现窗外一张张惊愕的面孔。

首先举着杯子站起来的是福科斯伍德庄园的皮尔金顿先生。他说，此时此刻，他有必要说几句话，然后再跟在座的诸位干上一杯。

他说，他现在被一种巨大的欢喜之感充斥着胸中，他相信，其他的诸位现在肯定也是同样的感觉。

长期以来的种种猜疑和误解现在都已经结束了。曾经的一个时期，他们这些作为尊敬的动物庄园所有者的人类邻居，当然包括他自己还有在座的任何一位，都不会认同那些一定程度上的猜忌，他们不愿意承认那是敌视。屡次发生过不幸的事件，也曾流行过错误的观念。他们觉得一个归猪管理的庄园，多多少少都会不正常，还很有可能会给周边的庄园带来不安全的因素。所以，为数众多的庄园主在还没有进行充分的考证前就肆意下了定论：这样的庄园，里面肯定是恣意妄为的歪风邪气。这样的状况也肯定会影响到自己庄园里的动物们甚至影响到雇员，使他们惶惶不安。但是，在今天他和他的朋友们参观完这个庄园之后，所有的怀疑都荡然无存，他们亲眼考察了庄园里的每一个角落，他们有了巨大的发现，这些发现是：这里的操作方法是最现代的，并且纪律很严明，大家井然有序地进行自己的工作，这在其他的庄园看来一定是楷模。还有一点他认为是完全正确的，那就是动物庄园里的下层动物们吃的跟全国的动物来比是最少的，而干的活却比全国任何动物都要多得多。很显然，在看到了庄园里的这些情况后，他们打算尽快地把这些富有特色的东西引进到他们自己的庄园里去。

在他准备结束他的讲话之前，他再次重申了他们要继续将这份曾经存在于动物庄园和其他相邻庄园之间的友好感情维持下去。没有一种利害关系存在于猪和人之间，以前不曾有过，以后就更不可能有。他们所面临的困难和奋斗的目标都是一样的，还有劳工问题，这在任何地方难道不都是一样的吗？讲到这里，皮尔金顿先生显然是想说出一句俏皮话，因为他自己都忍俊不禁致使他强忍了一会儿，呈多层状的下巴都憋成紫色的了，终于这句精心准备的话被他说出来了，他说：“如果你们有你们的下层动物需要对付，我们同样有我们的下层阶级。”这是一句名言警句啊，在座的各位被这句话引得哄堂大笑。之后，对于在庄园看见的饲料供应量少，工作时间长，而动物们普遍没有松懈疲沓的现状，皮尔金顿先生再次对猪们表示祝贺。

最后，皮尔金顿先生说到，请各位把各自的酒杯斟得满满的，然后集体起立，“先生们”，他说，“我最后敬你们一杯，先生们，为动物庄园的繁荣兴旺干杯！”

说完，爆发了一片热烈的喝彩声和跺脚声。拿破仑同志是最兴奋的，他激动地离开了自己的座位，绕到桌子的另一边——皮尔金顿先生面前，和他碰了杯，然后一饮而尽。之后，完全靠双脚站立的拿破仑同志在等到喝彩声平静下来后，表示他也要说上几句。

他如之前的每次演讲一样，开门见山，直奔主题，并且语句简明扼要。他说，对于那个对动物庄园误解的时代的结束，他也感到非常开心，至于那些长时间流传的谣言，他有证据显示是一些居心不良的仇敌散播的，那些谣言是不可信的，说在他自己和同事们的观念中，有某种东西是带颠覆性甚至革命性的。还有他们被误解为企图煽动周围庄园的动物一起来造反。但是，真相总会大白的，谎言是遮盖不了真相的。其实，他们唯一的愿望就是与他们的所有邻居和平共处，保持正常的贸易，这个愿望从没变过，过去是，现在是，未来仍是。他还补充到，现在这家庄园是合作性质的企业，他有幸在这里监管，那张地契由他亲自保管，但是归所有的猪共有。

他还说，任何的旧的猜忌都会消失，他相信不会残留的。为了更进一步地增加彼此的信任，在前不久，他们还专门对庄园里的规章制度作了一些修订。庄园里还有一个长期养成的愚蠢的习惯，那就是动物们之间互称“同志”，这个要被禁止了。此外还有一个陋习，很奇怪，但是已经无从考证它的由来了，那就是每个星期天早上必须列队向一个头盖骨致敬，这个头盖骨之前钉放在花园里的一个木桩上，当然，这个也要取消。头盖骨已经被埋掉了。这些参观者如果有留意到旗杆顶上迎风飘扬的绿旗，他们应该就会发现原先旗子上标记的白色蹄掌和犄角已经不见了，今后整个旗子就是全绿色的。

他说，刚才皮尔金顿先生的演讲很精彩也很亲切，但有一处错误需要指出，当然这不怪皮尔金顿先生，因为他不可能知道，他之前一直提到的“动物庄园”，从今后就不会再说，拿破仑宣布，并且是第一次宣布，今后，庄园将被称为“曼纳庄园”——他相信，这应该才是庄园的真正名字。

最后，他对他的发言作了总结：“先生们，我将给你们同以前一样的祝词，但是这次的方式是不同的，你们先把酒杯斟满。先生们，我的祝词是：为曼纳庄园的繁荣兴旺干杯！”

同刚才一样，拿破仑的话音刚落，又一阵衷心而热烈的喝彩声响起，酒被他们一饮而尽。此刻，我们看看站在外面的动物们，他们凝视着屋里的这一幅情景时，他们似乎觉得发生了什么怪事。好像是猪的脸孔起了什么变化吗？苜蓿用她那昏花的双眼从一张面孔掠到另一张面孔。他们那些家伙中，有的有着五个下巴，有四个的，还有三个的。但是再继续观察，还是觉得有什么东西正在逐渐消失和发生变化，但是究竟是什么？这时，屋里的喝彩声渐渐低到没了，他们又开始围着桌子，拿着扑克牌，继续刚才被打断的游戏，外面的动物们悄无声息地离开了。

但是他们还没走出二十码的路程，就被庄园主院子里传来的大吵大闹吓得猛地停住了脚步。动物们再一次回到院子里，透过窗子向里面张望。没错，屋子里的确是在争吵，而且很激烈，既有大吵大闹的，还有愤怒拍桌子的，有犀利的满是怀疑的眼光，也有矢口否认的。造成争吵的原因好像是拿破仑同皮尔金顿同时打出了一张黑桃A。

十二个嗓门一齐怒气冲天地吼叫，他们是多么相似。现在，终于明白了猪的面孔上发生了什么变化。窗外的动物们还在向里面张望，他们的目光从人转到猪，又从猪转到人，再从人转到猪；现在，已经不可能分得清哪张脸是猪的，哪张脸是人的了。

I

Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes. 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.

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 lust 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.

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.

IV

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.

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.

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!"

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 destroyer 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, 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 farmand 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 whythey 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.

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 Hero7 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 sledgehammer. 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."

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.

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, TitBits, 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 wear on Sundays.

A week later, in the afternoon, a number of dogcarts 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 upo n 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 stiff 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.