Or Well Animal

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George Orwell. Animal Farm

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MR. JONES, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunkto remember to shut the oholes. !ith the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side

to side, he lurched across the "ard, kicked off his boots at the back door, drew himself a lastglass of beer from the barrel in the sculler", and made his wa" u to bed, where Mrs. Jones

was alread" snoring.#s soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all throughthe farm buildings. !ord had gone round during the da" that old Ma$or, the ri%e Middle!hite boar, had had a strange dream on the re&ious night and wished to communicate it tothe other animals. 't had been agreed that the" should all meet in the big barn as soon asMr. Jones was safel" out of the wa". Old Ma$or (so he was alwa"s called, though the nameunder which he had been e)hibited was !illingdon *eaut"+ was so highl" regarded on thefarm that e&er"one was uite read" to lose an hours slee in order to hear what he had to

sa".#t one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised latform, Ma$or was alread" ensconced on his

bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. e was twel&e "ears old and hadlatel" grown rather stout, but he was still a ma$estic-looking ig, with a wise and bene&olentaearance in site of the fact that his tushes had ne&er been cut. *efore long the otheranimals began to arri&e and make themsel&es comfortable after their different fashions. Firstcame the three dogs, *luebell, Jessie, and /incher, and then the igs, who settled down inthe straw immediatel" in front of the latform. 0he hens erched themsel&es on the window-sills, the igeons fluttered u to the rafters, the shee and cows la" down behind the igsand began to chew the cud. 0he two cart-horses, *o)er and 1lo&er, came in together,

walking &er" slowl" and setting down their &ast hair" hoofs with great care lest there shouldbe some small animal concealed in the straw. 1lo&er was a stout motherl" mare aroaching

middle life, who had ne&er uite got her figure back after her fourth foal. *o)er was anenormous beast, nearl" eighteen hands high, and as strong as an" two ordinar" horses ut

together. # white strie down his nose ga&e him a somewhat stuid aearance, and in facthe was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was uni&ersall" resected for his steadiness ofcharacter and tremendous owers of work. #fter the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and*en$amin, the donke". *en$amin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst temered.e seldom talked, and when he did, it was usuall" to make some c"nical remark-for instance,he would sa" that 2od had gi&en him a tail to kee the flies off, but that he would sooner

ha&e had no tail and no flies. #lone among the animals on the farm he ne&er laughed. 'fasked wh", he would sa" that he saw nothing to laugh at. Ne&ertheless, without oenl"

admitting it, he was de&oted to *o)er3 the two of them usuall" sent their Sunda"s togetherin the small addock be"ond the orchard, gra%ing side b" side and ne&er seaking.

0he two horses had $ust lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had lost their mother,filed into the barn, cheeing feebl" and wandering from side to side to find some lace where

the" would not be trodden on. 1lo&er made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg,and the ducklings nestled down inside it and romtl" fell aslee. #t the last moment Mollie,the foolish, rett" white mare who drew Mr. Joness tra, came mincing daintil" in, chewingat a lum of sugar. She took a lace near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoingto draw attention to the red ribbons it was laited with. 4ast of all came the cat, who lookedround, as usual, for the warmest lace, and finall" suee%ed herself in between *o)er and

1lo&er3 there she urred contentedl" throughout Ma$ors seech without listening to a wordof what he was sa"ing.

#ll the animals were now resent e)cet Moses, the tame ra&en, who slet on a erch behindthe back door. !hen Ma$or saw that the" had all made themsel&es comfortable and werewaiting attenti&el", he cleared his throat and began561omrades, "ou ha&e heard alread" about the strange dream that ' had last night. *ut ' will

come to the dream later. ' ha&e something else to sa" first. ' do not think, comrades, that 'shall be with "ou for man" months longer, and before ' die, ' feel it m" dut" to ass on to"ou such wisdom as ' ha&e acuired. ' ha&e had a long life, ' ha&e had much time for

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On Sunda"s there was no work. *reakfast was an hour later than usual, and after breakfastthere was a ceremon" which was obser&ed e&er" week without fail. First came the hoisting ofthe flag. Snowball had found in the harness-room an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Joness andhad ainted on it a hoof and a horn in white. 0his was run u the flagstaff in the farmhousegarden e&er" Sunda" , morning. 0he flag was green, Snowball e)lained, to reresent thegreen fields of England, while the hoof and horn signified the future Reublic of the #nimalswhich would arise when the human race had been finall" o&erthrown. #fter the hoisting of

the flag all the animals trooed into the big barn for a general assembl" which was known asthe Meeting. ere the work of the coming week was lanned out and resolutions were ut

forward and debated. 't was alwa"s the igs who ut forward the resolutions. 0he otheranimals understood how to &ote, but could ne&er think of an" resolutions of their own.Snowball and Naoleon were b" far the most acti&e in the debates. *ut it was noticed thatthese two were ne&er in agreement5 whate&er suggestion either of them made, the othercould be counted on to oose it. E&en when it was resol&ed-a thing no one could ob$ect to initself-to set aside the small addock behind the orchard as a home of rest for animals whowere ast work, there was a storm" debate o&er the correct retiring age for each class ofanimal. 0he Meeting alwa"s ended with the singing of Beasts of England, and the afternoon

was gi&en u to recreation.0he igs had set aside the harness-room as a headuarters for themsel&es. ere, in the

e&enings, the" studied blacksmithing, carentering, and other necessar" arts from bookswhich the" had brought out of the farmhouse. Snowball also busied himself with organisingthe other animals into what he called #nimal 1ommittees. e was indefatigable at this. eformed the Egg /roduction 1ommittee for the hens, the 1lean 0ails 4eague for the cows, the!ild 1omrades Re-education 1ommittee (the ob$ect of this was to tame the rats andrabbits+, the !hiter !ool Mo&ement for the shee, and &arious others, besides institutingclasses in reading and writing. On the whole, these ro$ects were a failure. 0he attemt totame the wild creatures, for instance, broke down almost immediatel". 0he" continued to

beha&e &er" much as before, and when treated with generosit", siml" took ad&antage of it.0he cat $oined the Re-education 1ommittee and was &er" acti&e in it for some da"s. She was

seen one da" sitting on a roof and talking to some sarrows who were $ust out of her reach.She was telling them that all animals were now comrades and that an" sarrow who chose

could come and erch on her aw3 but the sarrows ket their distance.0he reading and writing classes, howe&er, were a great success. *" the autumn almost e&er"animal on the farm was literate in some degree.

#s for the igs, the" could alread" read and write erfectl". 0he dogs learned to read fairl"well, but were not interested in reading an"thing e)cet the Se&en 1ommandments. Muriel,the goat, could read somewhat better than the dogs, and sometimes used to read to theothers in the e&enings from scras of newsaer which she found on the rubbish hea.*en$amin could read as well as an" ig, but ne&er e)ercised his facult". So far as he knew,

he said, there was nothing worth reading. 1lo&er learnt the whole alhabet, but could not utwords together. *o)er could not get be"ond the letter =. e would trace out #, *, 1, =, in

the dust with his great hoof, and then would stand staring at the letters with his ears back,sometimes shaking his forelock, tr"ing with all his might to remember what came ne)t andne&er succeeding. On se&eral occasions, indeed, he did learn E, F, 2, , but b" the time heknew them, it was alwa"s disco&ered that he had forgotten #, *, 1, and =. Finall" he decidedto be content with the first four letters, and used to write them out once or twice e&er" da"

to refresh his memor". Mollie refused to learn an" but the si) letters which selt her ownname. She would form these &er" neatl" out of ieces of twig, and would then decorate themwith a flower or two and walk round them admiring them.

None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter #. 't was also foundthat the stuider animals, such as the shee, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the

Se&en 1ommandments b" heart. #fter much thought Snowball declared that the Se&en1ommandments could in effect be reduced to a single ma)im, namel"5 6Four legs good, twolegs bad.6 0his, he said, contained the essential rincile of #nimalism. !hoe&er hadthoroughl" grased it would be safe from human influences. 0he birds at first ob$ected, sinceit seemed to them that the" also had two legs, but Snowball ro&ed to them that this was notso.6# birds wing, comrades,6 he said, 6is an organ of roulsion and not of maniulation. 't

should therefore be regarded as a leg. 0he distinguishing mark of man is the hand, theinstrument with which he does all his mischief.6

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thing would be o&er in a fortnight, the" said. 0he" ut it about that the animals on the ManorFarm (the" insisted on calling it the Manor Farm3 the" would not tolerate the name 6#nimalFarm6+ were eretuall" fighting among themsel&es and were also raidl" star&ing to death.!hen time assed and the animals had e&identl" not star&ed to death, Frederick and/ilkington changed their tune and began to talk of the terrible wickedness that now flourishedon #nimal Farm. 't was gi&en out that the animals there ractised cannibalism, tortured oneanother with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. 0his was what came of

rebelling against the laws of Nature, Frederick and /ilkington said.owe&er, these stories were ne&er full" belie&ed. Rumours of a wonderful farm, where the

human beings had been turned out and the animals managed their own affairs, continued tocirculate in &ague and distorted forms, and throughout that "ear a wa&e of rebelliousness ranthrough the countr"side. *ulls which had alwa"s been tractable suddenl" turned sa&age,shee broke down hedges and de&oured the clo&er, cows kicked the ail o&er, huntersrefused their fences and shot their riders on to the other side. #bo&e all, the tune and e&enthe words of *easts of England were known e&er"where. 't had sread with astonishingseed. 0he human beings could not contain their rage when the" heard this song, thoughthe" retended to think it merel" ridiculous. 0he" could not understand, the" said, how e&en

animals could bring themsel&es to sing such contemtible rubbish. #n" animal caught singingit was gi&en a flogging on the sot. #nd "et the song was irreressible. 0he blackbirds

whistled it in the hedges, the igeons cooed it in the elms, it got into the din of the smithiesand the tune of the church bells. #nd when the human beings listened to it, the" secretl"trembled, hearing in it a rohec" of their future doom.Earl" in October, when the corn was cut and stacked and some of it was alread" threshed, aflight of igeons came whirling through the air and alighted in the "ard of #nimal Farm in thewildest e)citement. Jones and all his men, with half a do%en others from Fo)wood and/inchfield, had entered the fi&e-barred gate and were coming u the cart-track that led to thefarm. 0he" were all carr"ing sticks, e)cet Jones, who was marching ahead with a gun in his

hands. Ob&iousl" the" were going to attemt the recature of the farm.0his had long been e)ected, and all rearations had been made. Snowball, who had

studied an old book of Julius 1aesars camaigns which he had found in the farmhouse, wasin charge of the defensi&e oerations. e ga&e his orders uickl", and in a coule of minutes

e&er" animal was at his ost.#s the human beings aroached the farm buildings, Snowball launched his first attack. #llthe igeons, to the number of thirt"-fi&e, flew to and fro o&er the mens heads and muted

uon them from mid-air3 and while the men were dealing with this, the geese, who had beenhiding behind the hedge, rushed out and ecked &iciousl" at the cal&es of their legs.owe&er, this was onl" a light skirmishing manoeu&re, intended to create a little disorder,and the men easil" dro&e the geese off with their sticks. Snowball now launched his secondline of attack. Muriel, *en$amin, and all the shee, with Snowball at the head of them, rushed

forward and rodded and butted the men from e&er" side, while *en$amin turned around andlashed at them with his small hoofs. *ut once again the men, with their sticks and their

hobnailed boots, were too strong for them3 and suddenl", at a sueal from Snowball, whichwas the signal for retreat, all the animals turned and fled through the gatewa" into the "ard.0he men ga&e a shout of triumh. 0he" saw, as the" imagined, their enemies in flight, andthe" rushed after them in disorder. 0his was $ust what Snowball had intended. #s soon asthe" were well inside the "ard, the three horses, the three cows, and the rest of the igs,

who had been l"ing in ambush in the cowshed, suddenl" emerged in their rear, cutting themoff. Snowball now ga&e the signal for the charge. e himself dashed straight for Jones. Jonessaw him coming, raised his gun and fired. 0he ellets scored blood" streaks along Snowballs

back, and a shee droed dead. !ithout halting for an instant, Snowball flung his fifteenstone against Joness legs. Jones was hurled into a ile of dung and his gun flew out of his

hands. *ut the most terrif"ing sectacle of all was *o)er, rearing u on his hind legs andstriking out with his great iron-shod hoofs like a stallion. is &er" first blow took a stable-ladfrom Fo)wood on the skull and stretched him lifeless in the mud. #t the sight, se&eral mendroed their sticks and tried to run. /anic o&ertook them, and the ne)t moment all theanimals together were chasing them round and round the "ard. 0he" were gored, kicked,bitten, tramled on. 0here was not an animal on the farm that did not take &engeance onthem after his own fashion. E&en the cat suddenl" leat off a roof onto a cowmans shoulders

and sank her claws in his neck, at which he "elled horribl". #t a moment when the oeningwas clear, the men were glad enough to rush out of the "ard and make a bolt for the mainroad. #nd so within fi&e minutes of their in&asion the" were in ignominious retreat b" the

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recreation room, but also slet in the beds. *o)er assed it off as usual with 6Naoleon isalwa"s right86, but 1lo&er, who thought she remembered a definite ruling against beds, wentto the end of the barn and tried to u%%le out the Se&en 1ommandments which wereinscribed there. Finding herself unable to read more than indi&idual letters, she fetchedMuriel.6Muriel,6 she said, 6read me the Fourth 1ommandment. =oes it not sa" something aboutne&er sleeing in a bed76

!ith some difficult" Muriel selt it out.6't sa"s, No animal shall slee in a bed $ith sheets,6 she announced finall".

1uriousl" enough, 1lo&er had not remembered that the Fourth 1ommandment mentionedsheets3 but as it was there on the wall, it must ha&e done so. #nd Suealer, who haenedto be assing at this moment, attended b" two or three dogs, was able to ut the wholematter in its roer ersecti&e.69ou ha&e heard then, comrades,6 he said, 6that we igs now slee in the beds of thefarmhouse7 #nd wh" not7 9ou did not suose, surel", that there was e&er a ruling againstbeds7 # bed merel" means a lace to slee in. # ile of straw in a stall is a bed, roerl"regarded. 0he rule was against sheets, which are a human in&ention. !e ha&e remo&ed the

sheets from the farmhouse beds, and slee between blankets. #nd &er" comfortable bedsthe" are too8 *ut not more comfortable than we need, ' can tell "ou, comrades, with all the

brainwork we ha&e to do nowada"s. 9ou would not rob us of our reose, would "ou,comrades7 9ou would not ha&e us too tired to carr" out our duties7 Surel" none of "ouwishes to see Jones back760he animals reassured him on this oint immediatel", and no more was said about the igssleeing in the farmhouse beds. #nd when, some da"s afterwards, it was announced thatfrom now on the igs would get u an hour later in the mornings than the other animals, nocomlaint was made about that either.*" the autumn the animals were tired but ha". 0he" had had a hard "ear, and after the

sale of art of the ha" and corn, the stores of food for the winter were none too lentiful, butthe windmill comensated for e&er"thing. 't was almost half built now. #fter the har&est

there was a stretch of clear dr" weather, and the animals toiled harder than e&er, thinking itwell worth while to lod to and fro all da" with blocks of stone if b" doing so the" could raise

the walls another foot. *o)er would e&en come out at nights and work for an hour or two onhis own b" the light of the har&est moon. 'n their sare moments the animals would walkround and round the half-finished mill, admiring the strength and erendicularit" of its walls

and mar&elling that the" should e&er ha&e been able to build an"thing so imosing. Onl" old*en$amin refused to grow enthusiastic about the windmill, though, as usual, he would utternothing be"ond the cr"tic remark that donke"s li&e a long time.No&ember came, with raging south-west winds. *uilding had to sto because it was now toowet to mi) the cement. Finall" there came a night when the gale was so &iolent that the farm

buildings rocked on their foundations and se&eral tiles were blown off the roof of the barn.0he hens woke u suawking with terror because the" had all dreamed simultaneousl" of

hearing a gun go off in the distance. 'n the morning the animals came out of their stalls tofind that the flagstaff had been blown down and an elm tree at the foot of the orchard hadbeen lucked u like a radish. 0he" had $ust noticed this when a cr" of desair broke frome&er" animals throat. # terrible sight had met their e"es. 0he windmill was in ruins.!ith one accord the" dashed down to the sot. Naoleon, who seldom mo&ed out of a walk,

raced ahead of them all. 9es, there it la", the fruit of all their struggles, le&elled to itsfoundations, the stones the" had broken and carried so laboriousl" scattered all around.;nable at first to seak, the" stood ga%ing mournfull" at the litter of fallen stone Naoleon

aced to and fro in silence, occasionall" snuffing at the ground. is tail had grown rigid andtwitched sharl" from side to side, a sign in him of intense mental acti&it". Suddenl" he

halted as though his mind were made u.61omrades,6 he said uietl", 6do "ou know who is resonsible for this7 =o "ou know theenem" who has come in the night and o&erthrown our windmill7 SNO!*#4486 he suddenl"roared in a &oice of thunder. 6Snowball has done this thing8 'n sheer malignit", thinking toset back our lans and a&enge himself for his ignominious e)ulsion, this traitor has crethere under co&er of night and destro"ed our work of nearl" a "ear. 1omrades, here and now' ronounce the death sentence uon Snowball. #nimal ero, Second 1lass, and half a

bushel of ales to an" animal who brings him to $ustice. # full bushel to an"one whocatures him ali&e86

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0he animals were shocked be"ond measure to learn that e&en Snowball could be guilt" ofsuch an action. 0here was a cr" of indignation, and e&er"one began thinking out wa"s ofcatching Snowball if he should e&er come back. #lmost immediatel" the footrints of a igwere disco&ered in the grass at a little distance from the knoll. 0he" could onl" be traced fora few "ards, but aeared to lead to a hole in the hedge. Naoleon snuffed deel" at themand ronounced them to be Snowballs. e ga&e it as his oinion that Snowball had robabl"come from the direction of Fo)wood Farm.

6No more dela"s, comrades86 cried Naoleon when the footrints had been e)amined. 60hereis work to be done. 0his &er" morning we begin rebuilding the windmill, and we will build all

through the winter, rain or shine. !e will teach this miserable traitor that he cannot undo ourwork so easil". Remember, comrades, there must be no alteration in our lans5 the" shall becarried out to the da". Forward, comrades8 4ong li&e the windmill8 4ong li&e #nimal Farm86

VII

'0 !#S a bitter winter. 0he storm" weather was followed b" sleet and snow, and then b" ahard frost which did not break till well into Februar". 0he animals carried on as best the"

could with the rebuilding of the windmill, well knowing that the outside world was watchingthem and that the en&ious human beings would re$oice and triumh if the mill were not

finished on time.Out of site, the human beings retended not to belie&e that it was Snowball who had

destro"er the windmill5 the" said that it had fallen down because the walls were too thin. 0heanimals knew that this was not the case. Still, it had been decided to build the walls threefeet thick this time instead of eighteen inches as before, which meant collecting much largeruantities of stone. For a long i.ne the uarr" was full of snowdrifts and nothing could bedone. Some rogress was made in the dr" frost" weather that followed, but it was cruelwork, and the animals could not feel so hoeful about it as the" had felt before. 0he" were

alwa"s cold, and usuall" hungr" as well. Onl" *o)er and 1lo&er ne&er lost heart. Suealermade e)cellent seeches on the $o" of ser&ice and the dignit" of labour, but the other

animals found more insiration in *o)ers strength and his ne&er-failing cr" of 6' will workharder8 6'n Januar" food fell short. 0he corn ration was drasticall" reduced, and it was announced thatan e)tra otato ration would be issued to make u for it. 0hen it was disco&ered that thegreater art of the otato cro had been frosted in the clams, which had not been co&eredthickl" enough. 0he otatoes had become soft and discoloured, and onl" a few were edible.For da"s at a time the animals had nothing to eat but chaff and mangels. Star&ation seemedto stare them in the face.

't was &itall" necessar" to conceal this fact from the outside world. Emboldened b" thecollase of the windmill, the human beings were in&enting fresh lies about #nimal Farm. Once

again it was being ut about that all the animals were d"ing of famine and disease, and thatthe" were continuall" fighting among themsel&es and had resorted to cannibalism and

infanticide. Naoleon was well aware of the bad results that might follow if the real facts ofthe food situation were known, and he decided to make use of Mr. !h"mer to sread acontrar" imression. itherto the animals had had little or no contact with !h"mer on hisweekl" &isits5 now, howe&er, a few selected animals, mostl" shee, were instructed toremark casuall" in his hearing that rations had been increased. 'n addition, Naoleon ordered

the almost emt" bins in the store-shed to be filled nearl" to the brim with sand, which wasthen co&ered u with what remained of the grain and meal. On some suitable rete)t!h"mer was led through the store-shed and allowed to catch a glimse of the bins. e was

decei&ed, and continued to reort to the outside world that there was no food shortage on#nimal Farm.

Ne&ertheless, towards the end of Januar" it became ob&ious that it would be necessar" torocure some more grain from somewhere. 'n these da"s Naoleon rarel" aeared in ublic,but sent all his time in the farmhouse, which was guarded at each door b" fierce-lookingdogs. !hen he did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an escort of si) dogs whoclosel" surrounded him and growled if an"one came too near. Freuentl" he did not e&enaear on Sunda" mornings, but issued his orders through one of the other igs, usuall"Suealer.

One Sunda" morning Suealer announced that the hens, who had $ust come in to la" again,must surrender their eggs. Naoleon had acceted, through !h"mer, a contract for four

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hundred eggs a week. 0he rice of these would a" for enough grain and meal to kee thefarm going till summer came on and conditions were easier.!hen the hens heard this, the" raised a terrible outcr". 0he" had been warned earlier thatthis sacrifice might be necessar", but had not belie&ed that it would reall" haen. 0he" were

$ust getting their clutches read" for the sring sitting, and the" rotested that to take theeggs awa" now was murder. For the first time since the e)ulsion of Jones, there wassomething resembling a rebellion. 4ed b" three "oung *lack Minorca ullets, the hens made a

determined effort to thwart Naoleons wishes. 0heir method was to fl" u to the rafters andthere la" their eggs, which smashed to ieces on the floor. Naoleon acted swiftl" and

ruthlessl". e ordered the hens rations to be stoed, and decreed that an" animal gi&ing somuch as a grain of corn to a hen should be unished b" death. 0he dogs saw to it that theseorders were carried out. For fi&e da"s the hens held out, then the" caitulated and went backto their nesting bo)es. Nine hens had died in the meantime. 0heir bodies were buried in theorchard, and it was gi&en out that the" had died of coccidiosis. !h"mer heard nothing ofthis affair, and the eggs were dul" deli&ered, a grocers &an dri&ing u to the farm once aweek to take them awa".#ll this while no more had been seen of Snowball. e was rumoured to be hiding on one of

the neighbouring farms, either Fo)wood or /inchfield. Naoleon was b" this time on slightl"better terms with the other farmers than before. 't haened that there was in the "ard a

ile of timber which had been stacked there ten "ears earlier when a beech sinne" wascleared. 't was well seasoned, and !h"mer had ad&ised Naoleon to sell it3 both Mr./ilkington and Mr. Frederick were an)ious to bu" it. Naoleon was hesitating between thetwo, unable to make u his mind. 't was noticed that whene&er he seemed on the oint ofcoming to an agreement with Frederick, Snowball was declared to be in hiding at Fo)wood,while, when he inclined toward /ilkington, Snowball was said to be at /inchfield.Suddenl", earl" in the sring, an alarming thing was disco&ered. Snowball was secretl"freuenting the farm b" night8 0he animals were so disturbed that the" could hardl" slee in

their stalls. E&er" night, it was said, he came creeing in under co&er of darkness anderformed all kinds of mischief. e stole the corn, he uset the milk-ails, he broke the eggs,

he tramled the seedbeds, he gnawed the bark off the fruit trees. !hene&er an"thing wentwrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball. 'f a window was broken or a drain was

blocked u, someone was certain to sa" that Snowball had come in the night and done it, andwhen the ke" of the store-shed was lost, the whole farm was con&inced that Snowball hadthrown it down the well. 1uriousl" enough, the" went on belie&ing this e&en after the mislaid

ke" was found under a sack of meal. 0he cows declared unanimousl" that Snowball cret intotheir stalls and milked them in their slee. 0he rats, which had been troublesome that winter,were also said to be in league with Snowball.Naoleon decreed that there should be a full in&estigation into Snowballs acti&ities. !ith hisdogs in attendance he set out and made a careful tour of insection of the farm buildings, the

other animals following at a resectful distance. #t e&er" few stes Naoleon stoed andsnuffed the ground for traces of Snowballs footstes, which, he said, he could detect b" the

smell. e snuffed in e&er" corner, in the barn, in the cow-shed, in the henhouses, in the&egetable garden, and found traces of Snowball almost e&er"where. e would ut his snoutto the ground, gi&e se&eral dee sniffs, ad e)claim in a terrible &oice, 6Snowball8 e has beenhere8 ' can smell him distinctl"86 and at the word 6Snowball6 all the dogs let out blood-curdling growls and showed their side teeth.

0he animals were thoroughl" frightened. 't seemed to them as though Snowball were somekind of in&isible influence, er&ading the air about them and menacing them with all kinds ofdangers. 'n the e&ening Suealer called them together, and with an alarmed e)ression on

his face told them that he had some serious news to reort.61omrades86 cried Suealer, making little ner&ous skis, 6a most terrible thing has been

disco&ered. Snowball has sold himself to Frederick of /inchfield Farm, who is e&en nowlotting to attack us and take our farm awa" from us8 Snowball is to act as his guide whenthe attack begins. *ut there is worse than that. !e had thought that Snowballs rebellion wascaused siml" b" his &anit" and ambition. *ut we were wrong, comrades. =o "ou know whatthe real reason was7 Snowball was in league with Jones from the &er" start8 e was Jonesssecret agent all the time. 't has all been ro&ed b" documents which he left behind him andwhich we ha&e onl" $ust disco&ered. 0o m" mind this e)lains a great deal, comrades. =id we

not see for oursel&es how he attemted-fortunatel" without success-to get us defeated anddestro"ed at the *attle of the 1owshed76

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0he animals were stuefied. 0his was a wickedness far outdoing Snowballs destruction of thewindmill. *ut it was some minutes before the" could full" take it in. 0he" all remembered, orthought the" remembered, how the" had seen Snowball charging ahead of them at the *attleof the 1owshed, how he had rallied and encouraged them at e&er" turn, and how he had notaused for an instant e&en when the ellets from Joness gun had wounded his back. #t firstit was a little difficult to see how this fitted in with his being on Joness side. E&en *o)er, whoseldom asked uestions, was u%%led. e la" down, tucked his fore hoofs beneath him, shut

his e"es, and with a hard effort managed to formulate his thoughts.6' do not belie&e that,6 he said. 6Snowball fought bra&el" at the *attle of the 1owshed. ' saw

him m"self. =id we not gi&e him #nimal ero, first 1lass, immediatel" afterwards7660hat was our mistake, comrade. For we know now-it is all written down in the secretdocuments that we ha&e found-that in realit" he was tr"ing to lure us to our doom.66*ut he was wounded,6 said *o)er. 6!e all saw him running with blood.660hat was art of the arrangement86 cried Suealer. 6Joness shot onl" gra%ed him. ' couldshow "ou this in his own writing, if "ou were able to read it. 0he lot was for Snowball, at thecritical moment, to gi&e the signal for flight and lea&e the field to the enem". #nd he &er"nearl" succeeded-' will e&en sa", comrades, he $ouldha&e succeeded if it had not been for

our heroic 4eader, 1omrade Naoleon. =o "ou not remember how, $ust at the moment whenJones and his men had got inside the "ard, Snowball suddenl" turned and fled, and man"

animals followed him7 #nd do "ou not remember, too, that it was $ust at that moment, whenanic was sreading and all seemed lost, that 1omrade Naoleon srang forward with a cr"of =eath to umanit"8 and sank his teeth in Joness leg7 Surel" "ou remember that,comrades76 e)claimed Suealer, frisking from side to side.Now when Suealer described the scene so grahicall", it seemed to the animals that the"did remember it. #t an" rate, the" remembered that at the critical moment of the battleSnowball had turned to flee. *ut *o)er was still a little uneas".6' do not belie&e that Snowball was a traitor at the beginning,6 he said finall". 6!hat he has

done since is different. *ut ' belie&e that at the *attle of the 1owshed he was a goodcomrade.6

6Our 4eader, 1omrade Naoleon,6 announced Suealer, seaking &er" slowl" and firml", 6hasstated categoricall"-categoricall", comrade-that Snowball was Joness agent from the &er"

beginning-"es, and from long before the Rebellion was e&er thought of.66#h, that is different86 said *o)er. 6'f 1omrade Naoleon sa"s it, it must be right.660hat is the true sirit, comrade86 cried Suealer, but it was noticed he cast a &er" ugl" look

at *o)er with his little twinkling e"es. e turned to go, then aused and added imressi&el"56' warn e&er" animal on this farm to kee his e"es &er" wide oen. For we ha&e reason tothink that some of Snowballs secret agents are lurking among us at this moment8 6Four da"s later, in the late afternoon, Naoleon ordered all the animals to assemble in the"ard. !hen the" were all gathered together, Naoleon emerged from the farmhouse, wearing

both his medals (for he had recentl" awarded himself 6#nimal ero, First 1lass,6 and 6#nimalero, Second 1lass6+, with his nine huge dogs frisking round him and uttering growls that

sent shi&ers down all the animals sines. 0he" all cowered silentl" in their laces, seeming toknow in ad&ance that some terrible thing was about to haen.Naoleon stood sternl" sur&e"ing his audience3 then he uttered a high-itched whimer.'mmediatel" the dogs bounded forward, sei%ed four of the igs b" the ear and dragged them,suealing with ain and terror, to Naoleons feet. 0he igs ears were bleeding, the dogs had

tasted blood, and for a few moments the" aeared to go uite mad. 0o the ama%ement ofe&er"bod", three of them flung themsel&es uon *o)er. *o)er saw them coming and ut outhis great hoof, caught a dog in mid-air, and inned him to the ground. 0he dog shrieked for

merc" and the other two fled with their tails between their legs. *o)er looked at Naoleon toknow whether he should crush the dog to death or let it go. Naoleon aeared to change

countenance, and sharl" ordered *o)er to let the dog go, whereat *o)er lifted his hoof, andthe dog slunk awa", bruised and howling./resentl" the tumult died down. 0he four igs waited, trembling, with guilt written on e&er"line of their countenances. Naoleon now called uon them to confess their crimes. 0he"were the same four igs as had rotested when Naoleon abolished the Sunda" Meetings.!ithout an" further romting the" confessed that the" had been secretl" in touch withSnowball e&er since his e)ulsion, that the" had collaborated with him in destro"ing the

windmill, and that the" had entered into an agreement with him to hand o&er #nimal Farm toMr. Frederick. 0he" added that Snowball had ri&atel" admitted to them that he had beenJoness secret agent for "ears ast. !hen the" had finished their confession, the dogs

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romtl" tore their throats out, and in a terrible &oice Naoleon demanded whether an"other animal had an"thing to confess.0he three hens who had been the ringleaders in the attemted rebellion o&er the eggs nowcame forward and stated that Snowball had aeared to them in a dream and incited them todisobe" Naoleons orders. 0he", too, were slaughtered. 0hen a goose came forward andconfessed to ha&ing secreted si) ears of corn during the last "ears har&est and eaten themin the night. 0hen a shee confessed to ha&ing urinated in the drinking ool-urged to do this,

so she said, b" Snowball-and two other shee confessed to ha&ing murdered an old ram, aneseciall" de&oted follower of Naoleon, b" chasing him round and round a bonfire when he

was suffering from a cough. 0he" were all slain on the sot. #nd so the tale of confessionsand e)ecutions went on, until there was a ile of corses l"ing before Naoleons feet and theair was hea&" with the smell of blood, which had been unknown there since the e)ulsion ofJones.!hen it was all o&er, the remaining animals, e)cet for the igs and dogs, cret awa" in abod". 0he" were shaken and miserable. 0he" did not know which was more shocking-thetreacher" of the animals who had leagued themsel&es with Snowball, or the cruel retributionthe" had $ust witnessed. 'n the old da"s there had often been scenes of bloodshed euall"

terrible, but it seemed to all of them that it was far worse now that it was haening amongthemsel&es. Since Jones had left the farm, until toda", no animal had killed another animal.

Not e&en a rat had been killed. 0he" had made their wa" on to the little knoll where the half-finished windmill stood, and with one accord the" all la" down as though huddling togetherfor warmth-1lo&er, Muriel, *en$amin, the cows, the shee, and a whole flock of geese andhens-e&er"one, indeed, e)cet the cat, who had suddenl" disaeared $ust before Naoleonordered the animals to assemble. For some time nobod" soke. Onl" *o)er remained on hisfeet. e fidgeted to and fro, swishing his long black tail against his sides and occasionall"uttering a little whinn" of surrise. Finall" he said56' do not understand it. ' would not ha&e belie&ed that such things could haen on our farm.

't must be due to some fault in oursel&es. 0he solution, as ' see it, is to work harder. Fromnow onwards ' shall get u a full hour earlier in the mornings.6

#nd he mo&ed off at his lumbering trot and made for the uarr". a&ing got there, hecollected two successi&e loads of stone and dragged them down to the windmill before

retiring for the night.0he animals huddled about 1lo&er, not seaking. 0he knoll where the" were l"ing ga&e thema wide rosect across the countr"side. Most of #nimal Farm was within their &iew-the long

asture stretching down to the main road, the ha"field, the sinne", the drinking ool, theloughed fields where the "oung wheat was thick and green, and the red roofs of the farmbuildings with the smoke curling from the chimne"s. 't was a clear sring e&ening. 0he grassand the bursting hedges were gilded b" the le&el ra"s of the sun. Ne&er had the farm-andwith a kind of surrise the" remembered that it was their own farm, e&er" inch of it their own

roert"-aeared to the animals so desirable a lace. #s 1lo&er looked down the hillside here"es filled with tears. 'f she could ha&e soken her thoughts, it would ha&e been to sa" that

this was not what the" had aimed at when the" had set themsel&es "ears ago to work for theo&erthrow of the human race. 0hese scenes of terror and slaughter were not what the" hadlooked forward to on that night when old Ma$or first stirred them to rebellion. 'f she herselfhad had an" icture of the future, it had been of a societ" of animals set free from hungerand the whi, all eual, each working according to his caacit", the strong rotecting the

weak, as she had rotected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night ofMa$ors seech. 'nstead-she did not know wh"-the" had come to a time when no one daredseak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed e&er"where, and when "ou had to watch

"our comrades torn to ieces after confessing to shocking crimes. 0here was no thought ofrebellion or disobedience in her mind. She knew that, e&en as things were, the" were far

better off than the" had been in the da"s of Jones, and that before all else it was needful tore&ent the return of the human beings. !hate&er haened she would remain faithful, workhard, carr" out the orders that were gi&en to her, and accet the leadershi of Naoleon. *utstill, it was not for this that she and all the other animals had hoed and toiled. 't was not forthis that the" had built the windmill and faced the bullets of Joness gun. Such were herthoughts, though she lacked the words to e)ress them.#t last, feeling this to be in some wa" a substitute for the words she was unable to find, she

began to sing Beasts of England. 0he other animals sitting round her took it u, and the"sang it three times o&er-&er" tunefull", but slowl" and mournfull", in a wa" the" had ne&ersung it before.

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0he" had $ust finished singing it for the third time when Suealer, attended b" two dogs,aroached them with the air of ha&ing something imortant to sa". e announced that, b" asecial decree of 1omrade Naoleon, Beasts of Englandhad been abolished. From nowonwards it was forbidden to sing it.0he animals were taken aback.6!h"76 cried Muriel.6'ts no longer needed, comrade,6 said Suealer stiffl". 6Beasts of Englandwas the song of

the Rebellion. *ut the Rebellion is now comleted. 0he e)ecution of the traitors this afternoonwas the final act. 0he enem" both e)ternal and internal has been defeated. 'n Beasts of

Englandwe e)ressed our longing for a better societ" in da"s to come. *ut that societ" hasnow been established. 1learl" this song has no longer an" urose.6Frightened though the" were, some of the animals might ossibl" ha&e rotested, but at thismoment the shee set u their usual bleating of 6Four legs good, two legs bad,6 which wenton for se&eral minutes and ut an end to the discussion.So Beasts of Englandwas heard no more. 'n its lace Minimus, the oet, had comosedanother song which began5

%nimal arm, %nimal arm,

ever through me shalt thou come to harm1and this was sung e&er" Sunda" morning after the hoisting of the flag. *ut somehow neither the

words nor the tune e&er seemed to the animals to come u to Beasts of England.

VIII

# FE! da"s later, when the terror caused b" the e)ecutions had died down, some of theanimals remembered-or thought the" remembered-that the Si)th 1ommandment decreed6No animal shall kill an" other animal.6 #nd though no one cared to mention it in the hearingof the igs or the dogs, it was felt that the killings which had taken lace did not suare with

this. 1lo&er asked *en$amin to read her the Si)th 1ommandment, and when *en$amin, asusual, said that he refused to meddle in such matters, she fetched Muriel. Muriel read the

1ommandment for her. 't ran5 6No animal shall kill an" other animal $ithout cause.6Somehow or other, the last two words had slied out of the animals memor". *ut the" sawnow that the 1ommandment had not been &iolated3 for clearl" there was good reason forkilling the traitors who had leagued themsel&es with Snowball.0hroughout the "ear the animals worked e&en harder than the" had worked in the re&ious"ear 0o rebuild the windmill, with walls twice as thick as before, and to finish it b" theaointed date, together with the regular work of the farm, was a tremendous labour. 0herewere times when it seemed to the animals that the" worked longer hours and fed no better

than the" had done in Joness da". On Sunda" mornings Suealer, holding down a long striof aer with his trotter, would read out to them lists of figures ro&ing that the roduction

of e&er" class of foodstuff had increased b" two hundred er cent, three hundred er cent, orfi&e hundred er cent, as the case might be. 0he animals saw no reason to disbelie&e him,

eseciall" as the" could no longer remember &er" clearl" what conditions had been likebefore the Rebellion. #ll the same, there were da"s when the" felt that the" would soonerha&e had less figures and more food.#ll orders were now issued through Suealer or one of the other igs. Naoleon himself wasnot seen in ublic as often as once in a fortnight. !hen he did aear, he was attended not

onl" b" his retinue of dogs but b" a black cockerel who marched in front of him and acted asa kind of trumeter, letting out a loud 6cock-a-doodle-doo6 before Naoleon soke. E&en inthe farmhouse, it was said, Naoleon inhabited searate aartments from the others. e took

his meals alone, with two dogs to wait uon him, and alwa"s ate from the 1rown =erb"dinner ser&ice which had been in the glass cuboard in the drawing-room. 't was also

announced that the gun would be fired e&er" "ear on Naoleons birthda", as well as on theother two anni&ersaries.Naoleon was now ne&er soken of siml" as 6Naoleon.6 e was alwa"s referred to informal st"le as 6our 4eader, 1omrade Naoleon,6 and this igs liked to in&ent for him suchtitles as Father of #ll #nimals, 0error of Mankind, /rotector of the Shee-fold, =ucklingsFriend, and the like. 'n his seeches, Suealer would talk with the tears rolling down hischeeks of Naoleons wisdom the goodness of his heart, and the dee lo&e he bore to all

animals e&er"where, e&en and eseciall" the unha" animals who still li&ed in ignoranceand sla&er" on other farms. 't had become usual to gi&e Naoleon the credit for e&er"successful achie&ement and e&er" stroke of good fortune. 9ou would often hear one hen

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Naoleon called the animals together immediatel" and in a terrible &oice ronounced thedeath sentence uon Frederick. !hen catured, he said, Frederick should be boiled ali&e. #tthe same time he warned them that after this treacherous deed the worst was to bee)ected. Frederick and his men might make their long-e)ected attack at an" moment.Sentinels were laced at all the aroaches to the farm. 'n addition, four igeons were sentto Fo)wood with a conciliator" message, which it was hoed might re-establish good relationswith /ilkington.

0he &er" ne)t morning the attack came. 0he animals were at breakfast when the look-outscame racing in with the news that Frederick and his followers had alread" come through the

fi&e-barred gate. *oldl" enough the animals sallied forth to meet them, but this time the" didnot ha&e the eas" &ictor" that the" had had in the *attle of the 1owshed. 0here were fifteenmen, with half a do%en guns between them, and the" oened fire as soon as the" got withinfift" "ards. 0he animals could not face the terrible e)losions and the stinging ellets, and insite of the efforts of Naoleon and *o)er to rall" them, the" were soon dri&en back. #number of them were alread" wounded. 0he" took refuge in the farm buildings and eeedcautiousl" out from chinks and knot-holes. 0he whole of the big asture, including thewindmill, was in the hands of the enem". For the moment e&en Naoleon seemed at a loss.

e aced u and down without a word, his tail rigid and twitching. !istful glances were sentin the direction of Fo)wood. 'f /ilkington and his men would hel them, the da" might "et be

won. *ut at this moment the four igeons, who had been sent out on the da" before,returned, one of them bearing a scra of aer from /ilkington. On it was encilled thewords5 6Ser&es "ou right.6Meanwhile Frederick and his men had halted about the windmill. 0he animals watched them,and a murmur of disma" went round. 0wo of the men had roduced a crowbar and a sledgehammer. 0he" were going to knock the windmill down.6'mossible86 cried Naoleon. 6!e ha&e built the walls far too thick for that. 0he" could notknock it down in a week. 1ourage, comrades86

*ut *en$amin was watching the mo&ements of the men intentl". 0he two with the hammerand the crowbar were drilling a hole near the base of the windmill. Slowl", and with an air

almost of amusement, *en$amin nodded his long mu%%le.6' thought so,6 he said. 6=o "ou not see what the" are doing7 'n another moment the" are

going to ack blasting owder into that hole.60errified, the animals waited. 't was imossible now to &enture out of the shelter of thebuildings. #fter a few minutes the men were seen to be running in all directions. 0hen there

was a deafening roar. 0he igeons swirled into the air, and all the animals, e)cet Naoleon,flung themsel&es flat on their bellies and hid their faces. !hen the" got u again, a hugecloud of black smoke was hanging where the windmill had been. Slowl" the bree%e drifted itawa". 0he windmill had ceased to e)ist8#t this sight the animals courage returned to them. 0he fear and desair the" had felt a

moment earlier were drowned in their rage against this &ile, contemtible act. # might" cr"for &engeance went u, and without waiting for further orders the" charged forth in a bod"

and made straight for the enem". 0his time the" did not heed the cruel ellets that sweto&er them like hail. 't was a sa&age, bitter battle. 0he men fired again and again, and, whenthe animals got to close uarters, lashed out with their sticks and their hea&" boots. # cow,three shee, and two geese were killed, and nearl" e&er"one was wounded. E&en Naoleon,who was directing oerations from the rear, had the ti of his tail chied b" a ellet. *ut the

men did not go unscathed either. 0hree of them had their heads broken b" blows from*o)ers hoofs3 another was gored in the bell" b" a cows horn3 another had his trousersnearl" torn off b" Jessie and *luebell. #nd when the nine dogs of Naoleons own bod"guard,

whom he had instructed to make a detour under co&er of the hedge, suddenl" aeared onthe mens flank, ba"ing ferociousl", anic o&ertook them. 0he" saw that the" were in danger

of being surrounded. Frederick shouted to his men to get out while the going was good, andthe ne)t moment the cowardl" enem" was running for dear life. 0he animals chased themright down to the bottom of the field, and got in some last kicks at them as the" forced theirwa" through the thorn hedge.0he" had won, but the" were wear" and bleeding. Slowl" the" began to lim back towardsthe farm. 0he sight of their dead comrades stretched uon the grass mo&ed some of them totears. #nd for a little while the" halted in sorrowful silence at the lace where the windmill

had once stood. 9es, it was gone3 almost the last trace of their labour was gone8 E&en thefoundations were artiall" destro"ed. #nd in rebuilding it the" could not this time, as before,make use of the fallen stones. 0his time the stones had &anished too. 0he force of the

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e)losion had flung them to distances of hundreds of "ards. 't was as though the windmillhad ne&er been.#s the" aroached the farm Suealer, who had unaccountabl" been absent during thefighting, came skiing towards them, whisking his tail and beaming with satisfaction. #ndthe animals heard, from the direction of the farm buildings, the solemn booming of a gun.6!hat is that gun firing for76 said *o)er.60o celebrate our &ictor"86 cried Suealer.

6!hat &ictor"76 said *o)er. is knees were bleeding, he had lost a shoe and slit his hoof,and a do%en ellets had lodged themsel&es in his hind leg.

6!hat &ictor", comrade7 a&e we not dri&en the enem" off our soil-the sacred soil of #nimalFarm7 66*ut the" ha&e destro"ed the windmill. #nd we had worked on it for two "ears866!hat matter7 !e will build another windmill. !e will build si) windmills if we feel like it. 9oudo not areciate, comrade, the might" thing that we ha&e done. 0he enem" was inoccuation of this &er" ground that we stand uon. #nd now-thanks to the leadershi of1omrade Naoleon-we ha&e won e&er" inch of it back again8660hen we ha&e won back what we had before,6 said *o)er.

60hat is our &ictor",6 said Suealer.0he" limed into the "ard. 0he ellets under the skin of *o)ers leg smarted ainfull". e saw

ahead of him the hea&" labour of rebuilding the windmill from the foundations, and alread" inimagination he braced himself for the task. *ut for the first time it occurred to him that hewas ele&en "ears old and that erhas his great muscles were not uite what the" had oncebeen.*ut when the animals saw the green flag fl"ing, and heard the gun firing again-se&en times itwas fired in all-and heard the seech that Naoleon made, congratulating them on theirconduct, it did seem to them after all that the" had won a great &ictor". 0he animals slain inthe battle were gi&en a solemn funeral. *o)er and 1lo&er ulled the wagon which ser&ed as a

hearse, and Naoleon himself walked at the head of the rocession. 0wo whole da"s weregi&en o&er to celebrations. 0here were songs, seeches, and more firing of the gun, and a

secial gift of an ale was bestowed on e&er" animal, with two ounces of corn for each birdand three biscuits for each dog. 't was announced that the battle would be called the *attle

of the !indmill, and that Naoleon had created a new decoration, the Order of the 2reen*anner, which he had conferred uon himself. 'n the general re$oicings the unfortunate affairof the banknotes was forgotten.

't was a few da"s later than this that the igs came uon a case of whisk" in the cellars ofthe farmhouse. 't had been o&erlooked at the time when the house was first occuied. 0hatnight there came from the farmhouse the sound of loud singing, in which, to e&er"onessurrise, the strains of Beasts of Englandwere mi)ed u. #t about half ast nine Naoleon,wearing an old bowler hat of Mr. Joness, was distinctl" seen to emerge from the back door,

gallo raidl" round the "ard, and disaear indoors again. *ut in the morning a dee silencehung o&er the farmhouse. Not a ig aeared to be stirring. 't was nearl" nine oclock when

Suealer made his aearance, walking slowl" and de$ectedl", his e"es dull, his tail hangingliml" behind him, and with e&er" aearance of being seriousl" ill. e called the animalstogether and told them that he had a terrible iece of news to imart. 1omrade Naoleonwas d"ing8# cr" of lamentation went u. Straw was laid down outside the doors of the farmhouse, and

the animals walked on titoe. !ith tears in their e"es the" asked one another what the"should do if their 4eader were taken awa" from them. # rumour went round that Snowballhad after all contri&ed to introduce oison into Naoleons food. #t ele&en oclock Suealer

came out to make another announcement. #s his last act uon earth, 1omrade Naoleon hadronounced a solemn decree5 the drinking of alcohol was to be unished b" death.

*" the e&ening, howe&er, Naoleon aeared to be somewhat better, and the followingmorning Suealer was able to tell them that he was well on the wa" to reco&er". *" thee&ening of that da" Naoleon was back at work, and on the ne)t da" it was learned that hehad instructed !h"mer to urchase in !illingdon some booklets on brewing and distilling. #week later Naoleon ga&e orders that the small addock be"ond the orchard, which it hadre&iousl" been intended to set aside as a gra%ing-ground for animals who were ast work,was to be loughed u. 't was gi&en out that the asture was e)hausted and needed re-

seeding3 but it soon became known that Naoleon intended to sow it with barle".#bout this time there occurred a strange incident which hardl" an"one was able tounderstand. One night at about twel&e oclock there was a loud crash in the "ard, and the

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0he farm had had a fairl" successful "ear, but was still short of mone". 0here were thebricks, sand, and lime for the schoolroom to be urchased, and it would also be necessar" tobegin sa&ing u again for the machiner" for the windmill. 0hen there were lam oil andcandles for the house, sugar for Naoleons own table (he forbade this to the other igs, onthe ground that it made them fat+, and all the usual relacements such as tools, nails, string,coal, wire, scra-iron, and dog biscuits. # stum of ha" and art of the otato cro were soldoff, and the contract for eggs was increased to si) hundred a week, so that that "ear the

hens barel" hatched enough chicks to kee their numbers at the same le&el. Rations,reduced in =ecember, were reduced again in Februar", and lanterns in the stalls were

forbidden to sa&e Oil. *ut the igs seemed comfortable enough, and in fact were utting onweight if an"thing. One afternoon in late Februar" a warm, rich, aetising scent, such as theanimals had ne&er smelt before, wafted itself across the "ard from the little brew-house,which had been disused in Joness time, and which stood be"ond the kitchen. Someone saidit was the smell of cooking barle". 0he animals sniffed the air hungril" and wondered whethera warm mash was being reared for their suer. *ut no warm mash aeared, and on thefollowing Sunda" it was announced that from now onwards all barle" would be reser&ed forthe igs. 0he field be"ond the orchard had alread" been sown with barle". #nd the news soon

leaked out that e&er" ig was now recei&ing a ration of a int of beer dail", with half a gallonfor Naoleon himself, which was alwa"s ser&ed to him in the 1rown =erb" sou tureen.

*ut if there were hardshis to be borne, the" were artl" offset b" the fact that life nowada"shad a greater dignit" than it had had before. 0here were more songs, more seeches, morerocessions. Naoleon had commanded that once a week there should be held somethingcalled a Sontaneous =emonstration, the ob$ect of which was to celebrate the struggles andtriumhs of #nimal Farm. #t the aointed time the animals would lea&e their work andmarch round the recincts of the farm in militar" formation, with the igs leading, then thehorses, then the cows, then the shee, and then the oultr". 0he dogs flanked the rocessionand at the head of all marched Naoleons black cockerel. *o)er and 1lo&er alwa"s carried

between them a green banner marked with the hoof and the horn and the cation, 64ong li&e1omrade Naoleon8 6 #fterwards there were recitations of oems comosed in Naoleons

honour, and a seech b" Suealer gi&ing articulars of the latest increases in the roductionof foodstuffs, and on occasion a shot was fired from the gun. 0he shee were the greatest

de&otees of the Sontaneous =emonstration, and if an"one comlained (as a few animalssometimes did, when no igs or dogs were near+ that the" wasted time and meant a lot ofstanding about in the cold, the shee were sure to silence him with a tremendous bleating of

6Four legs good, two legs bad86 *ut b" and large the animals en$o"ed these celebrations.0he" found it comforting to be reminded that, after all, the" were trul" their own mastersand that the work the" did was for their own benefit. So that, what with the songs, therocessions, Suealers lists of figures, the thunder of the gun, the crowing of the cockerel,and the fluttering of the flag, the" were able to forget that their bellies were emt", at least

art of the time.'n #ril, #nimal Farm was roclaimed a Reublic, and it became necessar" to elect a

/resident. 0here was onl" one candidate, Naoleon, who was elected unanimousl". On thesame da" it was gi&en out that fresh documents had been disco&ered which re&ealed furtherdetails about Snowballs comlicit" with Jones. 't now aeared that Snowball had not, as theanimals had re&iousl" imagined, merel" attemted to lose the *attle of the 1owshed b"means of a stratagem, but had been oenl" fighting on Joness side. 'n fact, it was he who

had actuall" been the leader of the human forces, and had charged into battle with the words64ong li&e umanit"86 on his lis. 0he wounds on Snowballs back, which a few of the animalsstill remembered to ha&e seen, had been inflicted b" Naoleons teeth.

'n the middle of the summer Moses the ra&en suddenl" reaeared on the farm, after anabsence of se&eral "ears. e was uite unchanged, still did no work, and talked in the same

strain as e&er about Sugarcand" Mountain. e would erch on a stum, fla his black wings,and talk b" the hour to an"one who would listen. 6; there, comrades,6 he would sa"solemnl", ointing to the sk" with his large beak-6u there, $ust on the other side of thatdark cloud that "ou can see-there it lies, Sugarcand" Mountain, that ha" countr" where weoor animals shall rest for e&er from our labours86 e e&en claimed to ha&e been there onone of his higher flights, and to ha&e seen the e&erlasting fields of clo&er and the linseedcake and lum sugar growing on the hedges. Man" of the animals belie&ed him. 0heir li&es

now, the" reasoned, were hungr" and laborious3 was it not right and $ust that a better worldshould e)ist somewhere else7 # thing that was difficult to determine was the attitude of theigs towards Moses. 0he" all declared contemtuousl" that his stories about Sugarcand"

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be made from the laurels in the farmhouse garden and sent down to be laced on *o)ersgra&e. #nd in a few da"s time the igs intended to hold a memorial banuet in *o)ershonour. Naoleon ended his seech with a reminder of *o)ers two fa&ourite ma)ims, 6' willwork harder6 and 61omrade Naoleon is alwa"s right6-ma)ims, he said, which e&er" animalwould do well to adot as his own.On the da" aointed for the banuet, a grocers &an dro&e u from !illingdon and deli&ereda large wooden crate at the farmhouse. 0hat night there was the sound of uroarious singing,

which was followed b" what sounded like a &iolent uarrel and ended at about ele&en oclockwith a tremendous crash of glass. No one stirred in the farmhouse before noon on the

following da", and the word went round that from somewhere or other the igs had acuiredthe mone" to bu" themsel&es another case of whisk".

X

9E#RS assed. 0he seasons came and went, the short animal li&es fled b". # time camewhen there was no one who remembered the old da"s before the Rebellion, e)cet 1lo&er,*en$amin, Moses the ra&en, and a number of the igs.

Muriel was dead3 *luebell, Jessie, and /incher were dead. Jones too was dead-he had died inan inebriates home in another art of the countr". Snowball was forgotten. *o)er was

forgotten, e)cet b" the few who had known him. 1lo&er was an old stout mare now, stiff inthe $oints and with a tendenc" to rheum" e"es. She was two "ears ast the retiring age, but

in fact no animal had e&er actuall" retired. 0he talk of setting aside a corner of the asturefor suerannuated animals had long since been droed. Naoleon was now a mature boar oftwent"-four stone. Suealer was so fat that he could with difficult" see out of his e"es. Onl"old *en$amin was much the same as e&er, e)cet for being a little gre"er about the mu%%le,and, since *o)ers death, more morose and taciturn than e&er.0here were man" more creatures on the farm now, though the increase was not so great as

had been e)ected in earlier "ears. Man" animals had been born to whom the Rebellion wasonl" a dim tradition, assed on b" word of mouth, and others had been bought who had

ne&er heard mention of such a thing before their arri&al. 0he farm ossessed three horsesnow besides 1lo&er. 0he" were fine ustanding beasts, willing workers and good comrades,but &er" stuid. None of them ro&ed able to learn the alhabet be"ond the letter *. 0he"acceted e&er"thing that the" were told about the Rebellion and the rinciles of #nimalism,eseciall" from 1lo&er, for whom the" had an almost filial resect3 but it was doubtfulwhether the" understood &er" much of it.0he farm was more roserous now, and better organised5 it had e&en been enlarged b" twofields which had been bought from Mr. /ilkington. 0he windmill had been successfull"

comleted at last, and the farm ossessed a threshing machine and a ha" ele&ator of itsown, and &arious new buildings had been added to it. !h"mer had bought himself a

dogcart. 0he windmill, howe&er, had not after all been used for generating electrical ower. 'twas used for milling corn, and brought in a handsome mone" rofit. 0he animals were hard

at work building "et another windmill3 when that one was finished, so it was said, thed"namos would be installed. *ut the lu)uries of which Snowball had once taught the animalsto dream, the stalls with electric light and hot and cold water, and the three-da" week, wereno longer talked about. Naoleon had denounced such ideas as contrar" to the sirit of#nimalism. 0he truest hainess, he said, la" in working hard and li&ing frugall".

Somehow it seemed as though the farm had grown richer without making the animalsthemsel&es an" richer-e)cet, of course, for the igs and the dogs. /erhas this was artl"because there were so man" igs and so man" dogs. 't was not that these creatures did not

work, after their fashion. 0here was, as Suealer was ne&er tired of e)laining, endless workin the suer&ision and organisation of the farm. Much of this work was of a kind that the

other animals were too ignorant to understand. For e)amle, Suealer told them that theigs had to e)end enormous labours e&er" da" uon m"sterious things called 6files,66reorts,6 6minutes,6 and 6memoranda.6 0hese were large sheets of aer which had to beclosel" co&ered with writing, and as soon as the" were so co&ered, the" were burnt in thefurnace. 0his was of the highest imortance for the welfare of the farm, Suealer said. *utstill, neither igs nor dogs roduced an" food b" their own labour3 and there were &er" man"of them, and their aetites were alwa"s good.

#s for the others, their life, so far as the" knew, was as it had alwa"s been. 0he" weregenerall" hungr", the" slet on straw, the" drank from the ool, the" laboured in the fields3in winter the" were troubled b" the cold, and in summer b" the flies. Sometimes the older

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ones among them racked their dim memories and tried to determine whether in the earl"da"s of the Rebellion, when Joness e)ulsion was still recent, things had been better orworse than now. 0he" could not remember. 0here was nothing with which the" couldcomare their resent li&es5 the" had nothing to go uon e)cet Suealers lists of figures,which in&ariabl" demonstrated that e&er"thing was getting better and better. 0he animalsfound the roblem insoluble3 in an" case, the" had little time for seculating on such thingsnow. Onl" old *en$amin rofessed to remember e&er" detail of his long life and to know that

things ne&er had been, nor e&er could be much better or much worse-hunger, hardshi, anddisaointment being, so he said, the unalterable law of life.

#nd "et the animals ne&er ga&e u hoe. More, the" ne&er lost, e&en for an instant, theirsense of honour and ri&ilege in being members of #nimal Farm. 0he" were still the onl"farm in the whole count"-in all England8-owned and oerated b" animals. Not one of them,not e&en the "oungest, not e&en the newcomers who had been brought from farms ten ortwent" miles awa", e&er ceased to mar&el at that. #nd when the" heard the gun boomingand saw the green flag fluttering at the masthead, their hearts swelled with imerishableride, and the talk turned alwa"s towards the old heroic da"s, the e)ulsion of Jones, thewriting of the Se&en 1ommandments, the great battles in which the human in&aders had

been defeated. None of the old dreams had been abandoned. 0he Reublic of the #nimalswhich Ma$or had foretold, when the green fields of England should be untrodden b" human

feet, was still belie&ed in. Some da" it was coming5 it might not be soon, it might not be within the lifetime of an" animal now li&ing, but still it was coming. E&en the tune of Beasts ofEnglandwas erhas hummed secretl" here and there5 at an" rate, it was a fact that e&er"animal on the farm knew it, though no one would ha&e dared to sing it aloud. 't might bethat their li&es were hard and that not all of their hoes had been fulfilled3 but the" wereconscious that the" were not as other animals. 'f the" went hungr", it was not from feedingt"rannical human beings3 if the" worked hard, at least the" worked for themsel&es. Nocreature among them went uon two legs. No creature called an" other creature 6Master.6 #ll

animals were eual.One da" in earl" summer Suealer ordered the shee to follow him, and led them out to a

iece of waste ground at the other end of the farm, which had become o&ergrown with birchsalings. 0he shee sent the whole da" there browsing at the lea&es under Suealers

suer&ision. 'n the e&ening he returned to the farmhouse himself, but, as it was warmweather, told the shee to sta" where the" were. 't ended b" their remaining there for awhole week, during which time the other animals saw nothing of them. Suealer was with

them for the greater art of e&er" da". e was, he said, teaching them to sing a new song,for which ri&ac" was needed.'t was $ust after the shee had returned, on a leasant e&ening when the animals hadfinished work and were making their wa" back to the farm buildings, that the terrifiedneighing of a horse sounded from the "ard. Startled, the animals stoed in their tracks. 't

was 1lo&ers &oice. She neighed again, and all the animals broke into a gallo and rushedinto the "ard. 0hen the" saw what 1lo&er had seen.

't was a ig walking on his hind legs.9es, it was Suealer. # little awkwardl", as though not uite used to suorting hisconsiderable bulk in that osition, but with erfect balance, he was strolling across the "ard.#nd a moment later, out from the door of the farmhouse came a long file of igs, all walkingon their hind legs. Some did it better than others, one or two were e&en a trifle unstead" and

looked as though the" would ha&e liked the suort of a stick, but e&er" one of them madehis wa" right round the "ard successfull". #nd finall" there was a tremendous ba"ing of dogsand a shrill crowing from the black cockerel, and out came Naoleon himself, ma$esticall"

uright, casting haught" glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling round him.e carried a whi in his trotter.

0here was a deadl" silence. #ma%ed, terrified, huddling together, the animals watched thelong line of igs march slowl" round the "ard. 't was as though the world had turned uside-down. 0hen there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in site ofe&er"thing-in site of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, de&eloed through long"ears, of ne&er comlaining, ne&er criticising, no matter what haened-the" might ha&euttered some word of rotest. *ut $ust at that moment, as though at a signal, all the sheeburst out into a tremendous bleating of-

6Four legs good, two legs better8 Four legs good, two legs better8 Four legs good, two legsbetter86

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't went on for fi&e minutes without stoing. #nd b" the time the shee had uieted down,the chance to utter an" rotest had assed, for the igs had marched back into thefarmhouse.*en$amin felt a nose nu%%ling at his shoulder. e looked round. 't was 1lo&er. er old e"eslooked dimmer than e&er. !ithout sa"ing an"thing, she tugged gentl" at his mane and ledhim round to the end of the big barn, where the Se&en 1ommandments were written. For aminute or two the" stood ga%ing at the tatted wall with its white lettering.

6M" sight is failing,6 she said finall". 6E&en when ' was "oung ' could not ha&e read what waswritten there. *ut it aears to me that that wall looks different. #re the Se&en

1ommandments the same as the" used to be, *en$amin76For once *en$amin consented to break his rule, and he read out to her what was written onthe wall. 0here was nothing there now e)cet a single 1ommandment. 't ran5

#44 #N'M#4S #RE E>;#4*;0 SOME #N'M#4S #RE MORE E>;#4 0#N O0ERS

#fter that it did not seem strange when ne)t da" the igs who were suer&ising the work of

the farm all carried whis in their trotters. 't did not seem strange to learn that the igs hadbought themsel&es a wireless set, were arranging to install a telehone, and had taken out

subscritions to6ohn Bull, !itBits, and the 0aily "irror. 't did not seem strange whenNaoleon was seen strolling in the farmhouse garden with a ie in his mouth-no, not e&en

when the igs took Mr. Joness clothes out of the wardrobes and ut them on, Naoleonhimself aearing in a black coat, ratcatcher breeches, and leather leggings, while hisfa&ourite sow aeared in the watered silk dress which Mrs. Jones had been used to wear onSunda"s.# week later, in the afternoon, a number of dogcarts dro&e u to the farm. # deutation ofneighbouring farmers had been in&ited to make a tour of insection. 0he" were shown all

o&er the farm, and e)ressed great admiration for e&er"thing the" saw, eseciall" thewindmill. 0he animals were weeding the turni field. 0he" worked diligentl" hardl" raising

their faces from the ground, and not knowing whether to be more frightened of the igs or ofthe human &isitors.0hat e&ening loud laughter and bursts of singing came from the farmhouse. #nd suddenl", atthe sound of the mingled &oices, the animals were stricken with curiosit". !hat could behaening in there, now that for the first time animals and human beings were meeting onterms of eualit"7 !ith one accord the" began to cree as uietl" as ossible into thefarmhouse garden.#t the gate the" aused, half frightened to go on but 1lo&er led the wa" in. 0he" titoed u

to the house, and such animals as were tall enough eered in at the dining-room window.0here, round the long table, sat half a do%en farmers and half a do%en of the more eminent

igs, Naoleon himself occu"ing the seat of honour at the head of the table. 0he igsaeared comletel" at ease in their chairs 0he coman" had been en$o"ing a game of cards

but had broken off for the moment, e&identl" in order to drink a toast. # large $ug wascirculating, and the mugs were being refilled with beer. No one noticed the wondering facesof the animals that ga%ed in at the window.Mr. /ilkington, of Fo)wood, had stood u, his mug in his hand. 'n a moment, he said, hewould ask the resent coman" to drink a toast. *ut before doing so, there were a few words

that he felt it incumbent uon him to sa".'t was a source of great satisfaction to him, he said-and, he was sure, to all others resent-tofeel that a long eriod of mistrust and misunderstanding had now come to an end. 0here had

been a time-not that he, or an" of the resent coman", had shared such sentiments-butthere had been a time when the resected rorietors of #nimal Farm had been regarded, he

would not sa" with hostilit", but erhas with a certain measure of misgi&ing, b" their humanneighbours. ;nfortunate incidents had occurred, mistaken ideas had been current. 't hadbeen felt that the e)istence of a farm owned and oerated b" igs was somehow abnormaland was liable to ha&e an unsettling effect in the neighbourhood. 0oo man" farmers hadassumed, without due enuir", that on such a farm a sirit of licence and indisciline wouldre&ail. 0he" had been ner&ous about the effects uon their own animals, or e&en uon theirhuman emlo"ees. *ut all such doubts were now diselled. 0oda" he and his friends had

&isited #nimal Farm and insected e&er" inch of it with their own e"es, and what did the"find7 Not onl" the most u-to-date methods, but a disciline and an orderliness which shouldbe an e)amle to all farmers e&er"where. e belie&ed that he was right in sa"ing that the

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lower animals on #nimal Farm did more work and recei&ed less food than an" animals in thecount". 'ndeed, he and his fellow-&isitors toda" had obser&ed man" features which the"intended to introduce on their own farms immediatel".e would end his remarks, he said, b" emhasising once again the friendl" feelings thatsubsisted, and ought to subsist, between #nimal Farm and its neighbours. *etween igs andhuman beings there was not, and there need not be, an" clash of interests whate&er. 0heirstruggles and their difficulties were one. !as not the labour roblem the same e&er"where7

ere it became aarent that Mr. /ilkington was about to sring some carefull" rearedwitticism on the coman", but for a moment he was too o&ercome b" amusement to be able

to utter it. #fter much choking, during which his &arious chins turned urle, he managed toget it out5 6'f "ou ha&e "our lower animals to contend with,6 he said, 6we ha&e our lowerclasses86 0his bon motset the table in a roar3 and Mr. /ilkington once again congratulatedthe igs on the low rations, the long working hours, and the general absence of ameringwhich he had obser&ed on #nimal Farm.#nd now, he said finall", he would ask the coman" to rise to their feet and make certainthat their glasses were full. 62entlemen,6 concluded Mr. /ilkington, 6gentlemen, ' gi&e "ou atoast5 0o the roserit" of #nimal Farm86

0here was enthusiastic cheering and staming of feet. Naoleon was so gratified that he lefthis lace and came round the table to clink his mug against Mr. /ilkingtons before emt"ing

it. !hen the cheering had died down, Naoleon, who had remained on his feet, intimatedthat he too had a few words to sa".4ike all of Naoleons seeches, it was short and to the oint. e too, he said, was ha" thatthe eriod of misunderstanding was at an end. For a long time there had been rumours-circulated, he had reason to think, b" some malignant enem"-that there was somethingsub&ersi&e and e&en re&olutionar" in the outlook of himself and his colleagues. 0he" hadbeen credited with attemting to stir u rebellion among the animals on neighbouring farms.Nothing could be further from the truth8 0heir sole wish, now and in the ast, was to li&e at

eace and in normal business relations with their neighbours. 0his farm which he had thehonour to control, he added, was a co-oerati&e enterrise. 0he title-deeds, which were in his

own ossession, were owned b" the igs $ointl".e did not belie&e, he said, that an" of the old susicions still lingered, but certain changes

had been made recentl" in the routine of the farm which should ha&e the effect of romotingconfidence stiff further. itherto the animals on the farm had had a rather foolish custom ofaddressing one another as 61omrade.6 0his was to be suressed. 0here had also been a

&er" strange custom, whose origin was unknown, of marching e&er" Sunda" morning ast aboars skull which was nailed to a ost in the garden. 0his, too, would be suressed, and theskull had alread" been buried. is &isitors might ha&e obser&ed, too, the green flag whichflew from the masthead. 'f so, the" would erhas ha&e noted that the white hoof and hornwith which it had re&iousl" been marked had now been remo&ed. 't would be a lain green

flag from now onwards.e had onl" one criticism, he said, to make of Mr. /ilkingtons e)cellent and neighbourl"

seech. Mr. /ilkington had referred throughout to 6#nimal Farm.6 e could not of courseknow-for he, Naoleon, was onl" now for the first time announcing it-that the name 6#nimalFarm6 had been abolished. enceforward the farm was to be known as 60he Manor Farm6-which, he belie&ed, was its correct and original name.62entlemen,6 concluded Naoleon, 6' will gi&e "ou the same toast as before, but in a

different form. Fill "our glasses to the brim. 2entlemen, here is m" toast5 0o the roserit"of 0he Manor Farm8 60here was the same heart" cheering as before, and the mugs were emtied to the dregs. *ut

as the animals outside ga%ed at the scene, it seemed to them that some strange thing washaening. !hat was it that had altered in the faces of the igs7 1lo&ers old dim e"es flitted

from one face to another. Some of them had fi&e chins, some had four, some had three. *utwhat was it that seemed to be melting and changing7 0hen, the alause ha&ing come to anend, the coman" took u their cards and continued the game that had been interruted,and the animals cret silentl" awa".*ut the" had not gone twent" "ards when the" stoed short. #n uroar of &oices wascoming from the farmhouse. 0he" rushed back and looked through the window again. 9es, a&iolent uarrel was in rogress. 0here were shoutings, bangings on the table, shar

susicious glances, furious denials. 0he source of the trouble aeared to be that Naoleonand Mr. /ilkington had each la"ed an ace of sades simultaneousl".

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0wel&e &oices were shouting in anger, and the" were all alike. No uestion, now, what hadhaened to the faces of the igs. 0he creatures outside looked from ig to man, and fromman to ig, and from ig to man again3 but alread" it was imossible to sa" which waswhich.

1946

HHHHtHhHeHHHeHnHdHHHH

2eorge Orwell was the en name of an Englishman named Eric *lair. e was born in *engalin :IA, educated at Eton, and after ser&ice with the 'ndian 'merial /olice in *urma,

returned to Euroe to earn his li&ing writing no&els and essa"s. e was essentiall" a oliticalwriter who wrote of his own times, a man of intense feelings and fierce hates. e hatedtotalitarianism, and ser&ed in the 4o"alist forces in the Sanish 1i&il !ar. e was critical of1ommunism but was himself a Socialist. e distrusted intellectuals, although he was aliterar" critic. e hated cant and l"ing and cruelt" in life and in literature. e died at fort"-se&en of a neglected lung ailment, lea&ing behind a substantial bod" of work, a growingreutation for greatness, and the con&iction that modern man was inadeuate to coe withthe demands of his histor".

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