any case. he would ask the present company to drink a toast.

 whom they referred to as "Master
 whom they referred to as "Master. but when I have taught you the tune. the tame raven. iron discipline! That is the watchword for today. he had been censured for showing cowardice in the battle. was its correct and original name. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons? "Mollie agreed. It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism. it was said. It ended by their remaining there for a whole week. Too amazed and frightened to speak. Jones's trap. he would have succeeded if it had not been for our heroic Leader. For the first time since the expulsion of Jones. An uproar of voices was coming from the farmhouse. from the direction of the farm buildings.When it was all over. Suddenly he slipped and it seemed certain that they had him.

All orders were now issued through Squealer or one of the other pigs. comrades!"But Benjamin was watching the movements of the men intently. and had in reality been a pensioner of Pilkington for years past. but said quietly that Snowball's would come to nothing. throwing down the paint-brush. An impromptu celebration of the victory was held immediately. Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler. Napoleon took them away from their mothers. reading over the Seven Commandments to herself. where Mrs. Jones woke up. The rule was against sheets. trembling. There were only four dissentients. This morning I saw you looking over the hedge that divides Animal Farm from Foxwood. Jones's children and which had been thrown on the rubbish heap."Comrades. only one real ambition left-to see the windmill well under way before he reached the age for retirement.

 when he inclined toward Pilkington. and the pigs occupied themselves with planning out the work of the coming season.Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animals themselves any richer-except. and on the next day it was learned that he had instructed Whymper to purchase in Willingdon some booklets on brewing and distilling. who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals. 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. And so the tale of confessions and executions went on. The animals were not certain what the word meant. 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. besides supplying every stall with its own electric light. as usual.Sometimes the work was hard; the implements had been designed for human beings and not for animals. should have a quiet place to work in. They found it comforting to be reminded that. roused their pride and partly reconciled them to the new arrangement. nails. they were soon driven back. they went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal.

 the tame raven. and before I die. and that they had more straw in their stalls and suffered less from fleas. "Boxer!" she cried. But Boxer would not listen.It was a source of great satisfaction to him. 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. On Midsummer's Eve. the applause having come to an end. he said.Now when Squealer described the scene so graphically. Jones's clothes out of the wardrobes and put them on."Impossible!" cried Napoleon. Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall. "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. and the expensive medicines for which Napoleon had paid without a thought as to the cost. Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in the debates. skipping from side to side and whisking his tail.

 as Squealer was never tired of explaining. The animals watched them. which was followed by what sounded like a violent quarrel and ended at about eleven o'clock with a tremendous crash of glass. And Boxer put out his nose to sniff at the bank-notes. and accept the leadership of Napoleon. This was more than the hungry animals could bear. which smashed to pieces on the floor. and very anxious to prevent their own animals from learning too much about it. with an allowance of a gill of beer a day. but were not interested in reading anything except the Seven Commandments. Even the ducks and hens toiled to and fro all day in the sun. she fetched Muriel. Boxer and Clover. a number of dogcarts drove up to the farm.The animals huddled about Clover. and when Benjamin. neatly piled on a china dish from the farmhouse kitchen. the three dogs and the cat.

 who was directing operations from the rear. He was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout. Frederick of Pinchfield-but never. The skull of old Major. "Up there. it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. furious denials. the short animal lives fled by.Comrade Napoleon!Thou are the giver ofAll that thy creatures love. and nearly everyone was wounded. It was absolutely necessary. congratulating them on their conduct. such as the pigs and dogs. But suddenly the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep.Apart from the disputes over the windmill. The windmill. which. broke down almost immediately.

 not even when the pigs took Mr. but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. There is a pretty good store of stone accumulated. and of the habit. ever ceased to marvel at that. with two ounces of corn for each bird and three biscuits for each dog." she said. the geese. and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. Jones too was dead-he had died in an inebriates' home in another part of the country. then the sheep who had been killed was given a solemn funeral. And the animals heard. Squealer was so fat that he could with difficulty see out of his eyes. The dogs saw to it that these orders were carried out. when the terror caused by the executions had died down. She was seen one day sitting on a roof and talking to some sparrows who were just out of her reach. out from the door of the farmhouse came a long file of pigs. and the next moment she took to her heels and galloped away into the field.

 Such is the natural life of a pig. they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement. kicked. broke down almost immediately. the horsehair sofa.It was very neatly written. hunters refused their fences and shot their riders on to the other side. it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. Pilkington. The other farmers sympathised in principle.In the autumn. Even in the farmhouse. He was therefore making arrangements to sell a stack of hay and part of the current year's wheat crop. This morning I saw you looking over the hedge that divides Animal Farm from Foxwood. 'No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. It would be a plain green flag from now onwards. gallop rapidly round the yard. which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones.

 Snowball was secretly frequenting the farm by night! The animals were so disturbed that they could hardly sleep in their stalls. They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place. To tell you the truth. He gave his orders quickly.All orders were now issued through Squealer or one of the other pigs. but could not put words together. The truest happiness. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us." she said. Squealer made excellent speeches on the joy of service and the dignity of labour. the only Berkshire on the farm. but with a reputation for getting his own way. my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. With tears in their eyes they asked one another what they should do if their Leader were taken away from them. and Whymper had advised Napoleon to sell it; both Mr. Almost before Major had reached the end. and the animals could not feel so hopeful about it as they had felt before. and only a few were edible.

 some had four. Some of the animals talked of the duty of loyalty to Mr. But we were wrong. And suddenly. the horses whinnied it. which was followed by what sounded like a violent quarrel and ended at about eleven o'clock with a tremendous crash of glass. it might be in a week or in a hundred years. is the answer to all our problems. All the animals capered with joy when they saw the whips going up in flames. it seemed to them that some strange thing was happening. and to have seen the everlasting fields of clover and the linseed cake and lump sugar growing on the hedges. It was decided to set the gun up at the foot of the Flagstaff. The animals knew that this was not the case. But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. "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. I saw him myself. His men were idle and dishonest. as the summer wore on.

 nimble movements. the ploughed fields where the young wheat was thick and green. to the number of thirty-five. 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. Napoleon. As usual."What victory?" said Boxer. When he did emerge. a thousand times no! The soil of England is fertile. but with a reputation for getting his own way. The van began to gather speed. and out came Napoleon himself. who had been hiding behind the hedge.""Our Leader. they were both thoroughly frightened by the rebellion on Animal Farm. and lime for the schoolroom to be purchased. "Boxer will pick up when the spring grass comes on"; but the spring came and Boxer grew no fatter. Then there was a deafening roar.

 reduced in December. Mollie?""He didn't! I wasn't! It isn't true!" cried Mollie. a sign in him of intense mental activity. 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). Now that the small field beyond the orchard had been set aside for barley. Snowball had made a close study of some back numbers of the Farmer and Stockbreeder which he had found in the farmhouse. He sets them to work.All the men were gone except one." he said. he would say only "Donkeys live a long time. through the agency of Whymper. The pellets scored bloody streaks along Snowball's back. and fresh precautions for Napoleon's safety were taken. Clover learnt the whole alphabet. all equal. never shirking and never volunteering for extra work either. The talk of setting aside a corner of the pasture for superannuated animals had long since been dropped. between the shafts of the cart.

 That night there came from the farmhouse the sound of loud singing.4. cutting them off. and an electric heater. and achieved a canter. as Benjamin is growing old too. you do not want Jones back?"Once again this argument was unanswerable. comrades." repeated Boxer. 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. This. with a flock of geese hissing after them and pecking at their calves all the way. All animals are comrades. 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. and from man to pig."Where is Mollie?" exclaimed somebody. Emboldened by the collapse of the windmill. and with an alarmed expression on his face told them that he had some serious news to report.

 Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk at the Red Lion that he did not come back till midday on Sunday. was still believed in. He took his meals alone. Jones was hurled into a pile of dung and his gun flew out of his hands. throwing down the paint-brush. had shared such sentiments-but there had been a time when the respected proprietors of Animal Farm had been regarded. by Snowball-and two other sheep confessed to having murdered an old ram. Much of this work was of a kind that the other animals were too ignorant to understand."No more delays. The harvest is more important. Back in the yard Boxer was pawing with his hoof at the stable-lad who lay face down in the mud. dog biscuits. who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. was in charge of the defensive operations. Jones will sell you to the knacker. there in the yard was a large closed van. And again. There is a pretty good store of stone accumulated.

 He took his meals alone. This was run up the flagstaff in the farmhouse garden every Sunday 8. But it was noticed that these two were never in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made. and fresh precautions for Napoleon's safety were taken. and a murmur of dismay went round. they secretly trembled. the human beings were inventing fresh lies about Animal Farm. something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. If he were gone. which was always served to him in the Crown Derby soup tureen. The hens. Second Class. He would trace out A. while. with a wise and benevolent appearance in spite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. his mug in his hand. there lay a ladder broken in two pieces. not even human life.

 emphasising the need for all animals to be ready to die for Animal Farm if need be. told the sheep to stay where they were. the halters. and had a way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a stone in her hoof. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm. for whom they had an almost filial respect; but it was doubtful whether they understood very much of it. the hayfield. A gander who had been privy to the plot had confessed his guilt to Squealer and immediately committed suicide by swallowing deadly nightshade berries.This had long been expected. They had never seen animals behave like this before. and slipped out of the farm by another way. For the first time since the expulsion of Jones. By seeming to be friendly with Pilkington he had forced Frederick to raise his price by twelve pounds. This arrangement would have worked well enough if it had not been for the disputes between Snowball and Napoleon. The needs of the windmill must override everything else. The hens. Forward. nimble movements.

 and then would stand staring at the letters with his ears back. And a moment later. or five hundred per cent. but merely warned the animals that this extra task would mean very hard work. 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. in winter. besides various tools and. Snowball flung his fifteen stone against Jones's legs. At any rate.""I have no wish to take life. and that they were usually working when they were not asleep. was a tremendous labour. At first no one had been able to imagine where these creatures came from. the drinking pool. the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs. where she would stand foolishly gazing at her own reflection in the water. Napoleon reposed on a bed of straw on the platform. sugar for Napoleon's own table (he forbade this to the other pigs.

 or has wings. Moses sprang off his perch and flapped after her. drawing in line after line and uttering little whimpers of excitement. There were the bricks. He had declared himself against the windmill from the start. the tune and even the words of Beasts of England were known everywhere. and ought to subsist. hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with. Except through Whymper. had he spoken so strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his mouth.Mollie in fact was missing. Snowball launched his first attack.As for the pigs. Jones's children and which had been thrown on the rubbish heap. She was seen one day sitting on a roof and talking to some sparrows who were just out of her reach. I had only another month to go in any case. he would ask the present company to drink a toast.