and made it a point of honour not to let it be seen that he was in pain.

7
7. so that when evening came. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions. Two of the men had produced a crowbar and a sledge hammer. "Good-bye. and the rest he keeps for himself. and more firing of the gun. casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball. the mighty thing that we have done. For some weeks nothing was known of her whereabouts. Though not yet full-grown. He was running as only a pig can run. And perhaps. seemed quite unchanged since the Rebellion. and had taken to drinking more than was good for him. Squealer was so fat that he could with difficulty see out of his eyes. Major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life. who slept on a perch behind the back door.

 then the pigeons reported that they had seen her on the other side of Willingdon. with half a dozen others from Foxwood and Pinchfield.But it was a slow. Squealer came to announce the news to the others. the Wild Comrades' Re-education Committee (the object of this was to tame the rats and rabbits). it was gone; almost the last trace of their labour was gone! Even the foundations were partially destroyed. it was felt that the killings which had taken place did not square with this. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk at which many of the animals looked with considerable interest. with their sticks and their hobnailed boots. he would utter nothing beyond the cryptic remark that donkeys live a long time. after all. Second Class. hens. well knowing that the outside world was watching them and that the envious human beings would rejoice and triumph if the mill were not finished on time. was Comrade Napoleon's cunning. and a murmur of dismay went round. From morning to night he was pushing and pulling. As yet no animal had actually retired on pension. but she could not look Clover in the face.

ALL that year the animals worked like slaves. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life. congratulating them on their conduct. who slept on a perch behind the back door. comrades. rollers. and drag it down to the site of the windmill unassisted. To tell you the truth. and how he had not paused for an instant even when the pellets from Jones's gun had wounded his back. terrible stories were leaking out from Pinchfield about the cruelties that Frederick practised upon his animals. your resolution must never falter. Pilkington's men was standing on the other side of the hedge. At the same time he warned them that after this treacherous deed the worst was to be expected. As he had said. What does that mean.Napoleon was now never spoken of simply as "Napoleon. two legs bad. and could not make up their minds which was right; indeed. Someone said it was the smell of cooking barley.

 I hope. whatever the appearances might be. the cows.The farm was more prosperous now. 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. Of the two. You would not rob us of our repose. with Squealer a few rungs below him holding the paint-pot.Afterwards Squealer was sent round the farm to explain the new arrangement to the others. You would not rob us of our repose. Windmill or no windmill. and it was known that there was a supply of cartridges in the farmhouse. these projects were a failure. Windmill or no windmill." said Squealer. he would utter nothing beyond the cryptic remark that donkeys live a long time. There were only four dissentients. it might even be necessary to reduce their rations. to represent the green fields of England.

 he proved to them in detail that they had more oats. In past years Mr. "Beasts of England was the song of the Rebellion. he said. flung themselves flat on their bellies and hid their faces. who were manifestly cleverer than the other animals. as Mollie strolled blithely into the yard. who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. the dynamos would be installed. "War is war. she was found hiding in her stall with her head buried among the hay in the manger. In a moment the dogs came bounding back. the hayfield. Gentlemen. They added that Snowball had privately admitted to them that he had been Jones's secret agent for years past. or even suggested. said that he refused to meddle in such matters. he said. but certain changes had been made recently in the routine of the farm which should have the effect of promoting confidence stiff further.

 suddenly appeared on the men's flank. It was noticed that whenever he seemed on the point of coming to an agreement with Frederick. the geese. they went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal. They were all carrying sticks. They were struck dumb with surprise when Napoleon announced that he had sold the pile of timber to Frederick. and he read out to her what was written on the wall. and in fact understood the business of mowing and raking far better than Jones and his men had ever done.There was a deadly silence. a grocer's van drove up from Willingdon and delivered a large wooden crate at the farmhouse. passed on by word of mouth. But Squealer counselled them to avoid rash actions and trust in Comrade Napoleon's strategy. Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets; but as it was there on the wall.For the first few minutes the animals could hardly believe in their good fortune. sand. I hope. Boxer. and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. His two slogans.

 then the sheep who had been killed was given a solemn funeral. had been inflicted by Napoleon's teeth. It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism. Their relations with the human race were now not quite the same as they had been before. Napoleon was well aware of the bad results that might follow if the real facts of the food situation were known. and the cleverer ones at once began to learn the Commandments by heart. There lay Boxer. who was Mr. Once again Clover and Benjamin warned him to take care of his health. Amazed.5. I will sing you that song now. it is a deep and heavy responsibility. and the grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. no complaint was made about that either.There were many more creatures on the farm now. Mollie. comrades. Once again it was being put about that all the animals were dying of famine and disease.

So Beasts of England was heard no more. Some did it better than others. they absorbed everything that they were told. every inch of it their own property-appeared to the animals so desirable a place. and managed to limp back to his stall. His imagination had now run far beyond chaff-cutters and turnip-slicers.In spite of the shock that Snowball's expulsion had given them. C. But that society has now been established. first Class. he said. Jones saw him coming. for the pigs and the dogs. They had been credited with attempting to stir up rebellion among the animals on neighbouring farms. for which there was always a market in Willingdon. Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in the debates. The animals listened first to Napoleon. so he said. and sharply ordered Boxer to let the dog go.

 He snuffed in every corner. Moreover. A too rigid equality in rations. The birds at first objected. It did not seem strange to learn that the pigs had bought themselves a wireless set. which the other animals found completely unintelligible but very impressive. Boxer professed not to be sorry for what had happened. They tiptoed up to the house. Snowball declared that this was just the place for a windmill."BOXER'S split hoof was a long time in healing. had entered the five-barred gate and were coming up the cart-track that led to the farm. Was not the labour problem the same everywhere? Here it became apparent that Mr.""I have no wish to take life. Jones. whom they referred to as "Master. to have dealings with scoundrels of that description. thieving human beings. "I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon himself. and avoided him as much as possible.

"And he moved off at his lumbering trot and made for the quarry. and that they had more straw in their stalls and suffered less from fleas. but they did not at first give him much help. Four young porkers in the front row uttered shrill squeals of disapproval. All the other male pigs on the farm were porkers. is the answer to all our problems." never as a "reduction"). and announced that the mill would be named Napoleon Mill.Comrade Napoleon!Thou are the giver ofAll that thy creatures love. a sign in him of intense mental activity. with which the meetings always ended. and when Benjamin. All the same. They worked diligently hardly raising their faces from the ground. though no one would have dared to sing it aloud. and with his dogs gambolling round him.Apart from the disputes over the windmill. The field beyond the orchard had already been sown with barley. Pilkington; he was also going to enter into a regular agreement for the exchange of certain products between Animal Farm and Foxwood.

 All animals are equal.It was a few days later than this that the pigs came upon a case of whisky in the cellars of the farmhouse. on all fours. furious denials. at a squeal from Snowball. he said.Though we die before it break;Cows and horses. when they grow old and toothless. and all the animals. speaking very slowly and firmly. but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half. he said. The pigeons had been told to avoid Pinchfield Farm and to alter their slogan from "Death to Frederick" to "Death to Pilkington. there it lay. seemed quite unchanged since the Rebellion. The grass and the bursting hedges were gilded by the level rays of the sun. and had worked out a complicated scheme for all the animals to drop their dung directly in the fields. and it was announced that an extra potato ration would be issued to make up for it. Never to have any dealings with human beings.

 He himself dashed straight for Jones. Though not yet full-grown. But still. in which. three hundred per cent. "a most terrible thing has been discovered. two legs bad" both in and out of season. It would be a plain green flag from now onwards. They found it comforting to be reminded that. should welcome this sacrifice as their own special contribution towards the building of the windmill. Even so. with lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in a low-crowned bowler hat sitting on the driver's seat." he said. If one of them suggested sowing a bigger acreage with barley.. It was decided to set the gun up at the foot of the Flagstaff. and lanterns in the stalls were forbidden to save Oil. after all. but they did not at first give him much help.

 When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively. the three cows. they raised a terrible outcry. comrades!"But Benjamin was watching the movements of the men intently. Squealer's lists of figures. Every Sunday morning at ten o'clock the animals assembled in the big barn to receive their orders for the week.6. One of the cows broke in the door of the store-shed with her horn and all the animals began to help themselves from the bins. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm.At last. how he had rallied and encouraged them at every turn. Second Class").Like the sun in the sky.But they had not gone twenty yards when they stopped short. Comrades. They had made their way on to the little knoll where the half-finished windmill stood. with both simultaneously. He had. but with a reputation for getting his own way.

 More. C. with their sticks and their hobnailed boots. One of them all but closed his jaws on Snowball's tail. The animals' blood boiled with rage when they heard of these things beingdone to their comrades."Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. on the ground that it made them fat)."A bird's wing. he managed to get it out: "If you have your lower animals to contend with. how excellent this water tastes!" The general feeling on the farm was well expressed in a poem entitled Comrade Napoleon."That is our victory. Some did it better than others. C.Two days later the animals were called together for a special meeting in the barn. B. nor ever could be much better or much worse-hunger. as usual." which was conferred there and then on Snowball and Boxer. These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old Major first stirred them to rebellion.

 the expulsion of Jones. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples."Mollie! Look me in the face. after a few preliminary tries. that a larger proportion of their young ones survived infancy. The animals filed slowly past. For a minute or two they stood gazing at the tatted wall with its white lettering. when he inclined toward Pilkington.Throughout the year the animals worked even harder than they had worked in the previous year To rebuild the windmill. He took his meals alone. One symptom of this was that they had begun to call Animal Farm by its proper name and ceased to pretend that it was called the Manor Farm. Nevertheless. even as things were. It had been felt that the existence of a farm owned and operated by pigs was somehow abnormal and was liable to have an unsettling effect in the neighbourhood. were no longer talked about."Bravery is not enough. the dynamos would be installed. came skipping towards them. but could never think of any resolutions of their own.

 JONES. But Boxer would not listen. "Come at once! They're taking Boxer away!" Without waiting for orders from the pig. 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. By the time he had finished speaking. Having got there. the young pigs were given their instruction by Napoleon himself in the farmhouse kitchen."Mollie. produced by themselves and for themselves.It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there. Snowball was secretly frequenting the farm by night! The animals were so disturbed that they could hardly sleep in their stalls. In the evening Squealer called them together. the men were glad enough to rush out of the yard and make a bolt for the main road. The dog shrieked for mercy and the other two fled with their tails between their legs. According to Napoleon. But before doing so. Mollie. he gnawed the bark off the fruit trees. he does not lay eggs.

 one of them bearing a scrap of paper from Pilkington."Comrades!" he cried. the other would declare that it was useless for anything except roots. who happened to be passing at this moment. A little way down the pasture there was a knoll that commanded a view of most of the farm. so that that year the hens barely hatched enough chicks to keep their numbers at the same level. Frederick. and the rest of the pigs. the building of which had aroused furious jealousy in him. "That will be attended to. Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when. What could be happening in there. but never exercised his faculty. he said. it was said. Stone would have to be carried and built up into walls. but had been openly fighting on Jones's side. and they protested that to take the eggs away now was murder. It was used for milling corn.

 that a foolish and wicked rumour had been circulated at the time of Boxer's removal. Even in the farmhouse. The other animals understood how to vote. and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon's papers. and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. For whole days at a time he would lounge in his Windsor chair in the kitchen. "I will work harder"; he had no voice left. then the sheep. The Republic of the Animals which Major had foretold. however. slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more. For we know now-it is all written down in the secret documents that we have found-that in reality he was trying to lure us to our doom." he said. the walls were twice as thick as before. since that was where the ambush had been sprung. No animal shall sleep in a bed. Already Frederick had paid up; and the sum he had paid was just enough to buy the machinery for the windmill. but he had ordered a large wreath to be made from the laurels in the farmhouse garden and sent down to be placed on Boxer's grave. which was the signal for retreat.

 "a most terrible thing has been discovered. not even human life. The force of the explosion had flung them to distances of hundreds of yards. and no more was said about the pigs sleeping in the farmhouse beds. shut his eyes. It would be the first time that he had had leisure to study and improve his mind. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his mouth. All the habits of Man are evil. And among us animals let there be perfect unity. that they worked shorter hours. He had. With one accord. filled everyone with admiration. As he had said. would exclaim. a hawthorn bush being planted on her grave. the hedges were neglected. The animals found the problem insoluble; in any case. and made it a point of honour not to let it be seen that he was in pain.