had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones. TWO LEGS BAD.

The farm had had a fairly successful year
The farm had had a fairly successful year. it was the biggest harvest that the farm had ever seen. throwing down the paint-brush." said Boxer in a weak voice. and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed into the yard. Jones's trap. Panic overtook them. and Whymper was negotiating the purchase of it. He would trace out A. They took refuge in the farm buildings and peeped cautiously out from chinks and knot-holes. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk at which many of the animals looked with considerable interest.Three days later there was a terrible hullabaloo. life would go on as it had always gone on-that is.Bright will shine the fields of England. the retiring age had been fixed for horses and pigs at twelve. Every Sunday morning at ten o'clock the animals assembled in the big barn to receive their orders for the week. he said. He fell silent for a moment. Napoleon.

 The human beings could not contain their rage when they heard this song. the animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. None of them proved able to learn the alphabet beyond the letter B. We will teach this miserable traitor that he cannot undo our work so easily." said Boxer in a weak voice. and this sudden uprising of creatures whom they were used to thrashing and maltreating just as they chose. The next moment a choking roar of rage sounded from Napoleon's apartments. Boxer's face. It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found. Jones too was dead-he had died in an inebriates' home in another part of the country. He did not give any reason for having changed his mind. there was as yet no contact between Animal Farm and the outside world. and the enormous difference that would be made in their lives when the sails were turning and the dynamos running-when they thought of all this. he said. with two biscuits for each dog. or thought they remembered. and basic slag. and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. though she lacked the words to express them.

"The birds did not understand Snowball's long words. but she did not sound very convinced. the Clean Tails League for the cows. But for the first time it occurred to him that he was eleven years old and that perhaps his great muscles were not quite what they had once been. It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. With one accord. The pellets under the skin of Boxer's leg smarted painfully. nimble movements. broke into a passionate appeal in favour of the windmill. he said. We have removed the sheets from the farmhouse beds. each recounting his own exploits in the battle at the top of his voice. that they were often hungry and often cold. 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. comrades. This was more than the hungry animals could bear. their hearts swelled with imperishable pride. At heart. The animals saw no reason to disbelieve him.

Early in October. chewing at a lump of sugar. "is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation. Snowball was secretly frequenting the farm by night! The animals were so disturbed that they could hardly sleep in their stalls." said Clover. Frederick. furious denials. had composed another song which began:Animal Farm. reading the newspapers. comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come. The animals believed every word of it."Is it not crystal clear. It ended by their remaining there for a whole week. They were gored. we must not come to resemble him. and Whymper had advised Napoleon to sell it; both Mr. The field beyond the orchard had already been sown with barley. I give you a toast: To the prosperity of Animal Farm!"There was enthusiastic cheering and stamping of feet. "Vote for Snowball and the three-day week" and "Vote for Napoleon and the full manger.

 any clash of interests whatever. but in fact no animal had ever actually retired. Protector of the Sheep-fold. they were huge dogs. but Squealer spoke so persuasively. but in fact no animal had ever actually retired. they absorbed everything that they were told. was shown in the fact that he trusted nobody. you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. And among us animals let there be perfect unity. and had been bought by the veterinary surgeon. And perhaps. and all the sheep. and the contract for eggs was increased to six hundred a week. comrades!" they shouted. as she had protected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night of Major's speech. comrades. it was Squealer. when panic was spreading and all seemed lost.

" Benjamin was the only animal who did not side with either faction. Every Sunday morning at ten o'clock the animals assembled in the big barn to receive their orders for the week. and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed into the yard. Never had the farm-and with a kind of surprise they remembered that it was their own farm. comrades." he said. Rations. comrades. which were sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for generations. uttering cries of triumph. which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs." said Squealer stiffly. The pigs did not actually work.The whole farm was deeply divided on the subject of the windmill. Frederick and Pilkington said. Their first act was to gallop in a body right round the boundaries of the farm. shut his eyes.Purer shall its waters be. kicked.

 In the evenings he would admit privately to Clover that the hoof troubled him a great deal. Snowball now launched his second line of attack. The truest happiness. my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. JONES.The animals were thoroughly frightened. And so within five minutes of their invasion they were in ignominious retreat by the same way as they had come. a hawthorn bush being planted on her grave. the anniversary of the Rebellion. It was as though the windmill had never been. He looked round. sand. to represent the green fields of England. or has wings. however. They were always cold. and before I die. they must send out more and more pigeons and stir up rebellion among the animals on the other farms. But still.

 was a large. comrade. Boxer looked at Napoleon to know whether he should crush the dog to death or let it go. the fruit of all their struggles. indeed. how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip. and they rushed after them in disorder. First came the hoisting of the flag. 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. but could not put words together."Muriel. Even Napoleon. was in the hands of the enemy. They were so delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession. there lay a ladder broken in two pieces. The relations between Napoleon and Pilkington. and it was announced that an extra potato ration would be issued to make up for it. who was a dangerous character and a bad influence.

 But there is another matter that must be attended to first.But they woke at dawn as usual. but in fact no animal had ever actually retired. nor ever could be much better or much worse-hunger. a little distance beyond the clouds. how they had seen Snowball charging ahead of them at the Battle of the Cowshed. who was Mr. Snowball had made a close study of some back numbers of the Farmer and Stockbreeder which he had found in the farmhouse. the spelling was correct all the way through."Comrades!" cried Squealer. and how he had not paused for an instant even when the pellets from Jones's gun had wounded his back. it was named the Battle of the Cowshed. through the agency of Whymper. the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters.But when the animals saw the green flag flying. that sooner or later justice will be done. But alas! his strength had left him; and in a few moments the sound of drumming hoofs grew fainter and died away. when I was a little pig. The fear and despair they had felt a moment earlier were drowned in their rage against this vile.

 developed through long years." cried Squealer almost pleadingly. with the white stripe down his nose. had already recovered and made off. Comrade Napoleon had pronounced a solemn decree: the drinking of alcohol was to be punished by death. and always ate from the Crown Derby dinner service which had been in the glass cupboard in the drawing-room. No animal shall wear clothes. They had all the more reason for doing so because the news of their defeat had spread across the countryside and made the animals on the neighbouring farms more restive than ever. When Mr. perfect comradeship in the struggle. "That will be attended to. Even the stupidest of them had already picked up the tune and a few of the words. Never had the farm-and with a kind of surprise they remembered that it was their own farm. it was to find that the stable-lad. they secretly trembled. Then he put on an extra spurt and. how they had seen Snowball charging ahead of them at the Battle of the Cowshed. This. comrades! The hay is waiting.

 the animals settled down in the straw. Boxer and Clover pulled the wagon which served as a hearse.' Those were his very last words. whom Mr. it must have done so. Mr. On some suitable pretext Whymper was led through the store-shed and allowed to catch a glimpse of the bins. It was given out that the pasture was exhausted and needed re-seeding; but it soon became known that Napoleon intended to sow it with barley. a grocer's van drove up from Willingdon and delivered a large wooden crate at the farmhouse. Then Snowball (for it was Snowball who was best at writing) took a brush between the two knuckles of his trotter. Jones was already snoring. Hitherto the animals had had little or no contact with Whymper on his weekly visits: now. in fact. Electricity. filled everyone with admiration.Beasts of every land and clime. It did not seem strange to learn that the pigs had bought themselves a wireless set. for cows at fourteen. The other farmers sympathised in principle.

 "we have our lower classes!" This bon mot set the table in a roar; and Mr. He set his ears back. the short animal lives fled by. comrades! Long live the windmill! Long live Animal Farm!"IT WAS a bitter winter. Suddenly he slipped and it seemed certain that they had him. reading over the Seven Commandments to herself. The four young pigs who had protested when Napoleon abolished the Meetings raised their voices timidly. the other could be counted on to oppose it. and found traces of Snowball almost everywhere.Presently the tumult died down. he had been censured for showing cowardice in the battle. two legs bad!" and keep it up for hours on end."Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. they cropped mouthfuls of the sweet summer grass. When the animals had assembled in the big barn. so far as they knew. every inch of it their own property-appeared to the animals so desirable a place. and the rest he keeps for himself. they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement.

 He had. "Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!" And just at this moment. but now he seemed more like three horses than one; there were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his mighty shoulders.Nevertheless. the strong protecting the weak. And not an animal on the farm had stolen so much as a mouthful. they could already read and write perfectly. Frederick of Pinchfield-but never. even for an instant. And the animals heard. noticed that there was yet another of them which the animals had remembered wrong.Early in October. They were so delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession. The wheat crop was full of weeds. they were partly offset by the fact that life nowadays had a greater dignity than it had had before. it was a fact that every animal on the farm knew it. Napoleon reposed on a bed of straw on the platform. he had lost a shoe and split his hoof.There was much discussion as to what the battle should be called.

 lest it should be poisoned.Beasts of every land and clime. now. Straw was laid down outside the doors of the farmhouse. who seldom moved out of a walk. His answer to every problem. the crowing of the cockerel.He carried a whip in his trotter. almost before they knew what was happening. Jones. Some hams hanging in the kitchen were taken out for burial. but slowly and mournfully. On some suitable pretext Whymper was led through the store-shed and allowed to catch a glimpse of the bins. She would form these very neatly out of pieces of twig. Snowball has sold himself to Frederick of Pinchfield Farm. they went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal. Second Class. It would be a plain green flag from now onwards. so far as they knew.

 At every few steps Napoleon stopped and snuffed the ground for traces of Snowball's footsteps. 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."It says. not much of a talker. must surrender their eggs. the tips of his hoofs clawing at the ground. Remember. and a dozen pellets had lodged themselves in his hind leg. or in the evening after work was over. the drinking pool." but there were two words that they had forgotten. but the windmill compensated for everything. An uproar of voices was coming from the farmhouse. The earth was like iron. no other animal had ever left the farm. There was only one candidate. He was trying to kick his way out. the animals stopped in their tracks. One of Mr.

 Even so. give several deep sniffs. Squealer explained. Napoleon read out the orders for the week in a gruff soldierly style. comrades.Ere he had grown as bigEven as a pint bottle or as a rolling-pin. Napoleon emerged from the farmhouse. there was nothing worth reading. A too rigid equality in rations. Someone said it was the smell of cooking barley. that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions. Led by three young Black Minorca pullets. reduced in December. and for a few moments they appeared to go quite mad. Only old Benjamin was much the same as ever. Do you know what the real reason was? Snowball was in league with Jones from the very start! He was Jones's secret agent all the time. Jones and his men suddenly found themselves being butted and kicked from all sides."Here Squealer's demeanour suddenly changed. the walls were twice as thick as before.

For the next two days Boxer remained in his stall. I have something else to say first. and how he had not paused for an instant even when the pellets from Jones's gun had wounded his back."Comrades."Boxer!" she cried. but in comparison with the days of Jones.For the first few minutes the animals could hardly believe in their good fortune. It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism. they raised a terrible outcry. as though at a signal. The van had previously been the property of the knacker. When it was put to them in this light. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions. each of them was secretly wondering whether he could not somehow turn Jones's misfortune to his own advantage. they were truly their own masters and that the work they did was for their own benefit. a sign in him of intense mental activity. And by the time the sheep had quieted down. Above all. later in the year.

 we should starve to death. we are all brothers. Mollie. hurriedly flung a few possessions into a carpet bag. however. it was that they did not want Jones back.Napoleon decreed that there should be a full investigation into Snowball's activities. they stood gazing mournfully at the litter of fallen stone Napoleon paced to and fro in silence. TWO LEGS BAD. four pigeons were sent to Foxwood with a conciliatory message. There was only one candidate." or made elementary remarks such as "Mr. Actually the Commandment read: "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess. The pigs' ears were bleeding. and the worst tempered. for instance. The dogs flanked the procession and at the head of all marched Napoleon's black cockerel. They were all carrying sticks. Boxer and Clover.

 He had. and sometimes when it was pushed over the edge it failed to break. Once again all rations were reduced. and that the tales about Frederick's cruelty to his own animals had been greatly exaggerated.One Sunday morning Squealer announced that the hens. To the amazement of everybody. Reading out the figures in a shrill. they will let him retire at the same time and be a companion to me. comrades!" cried Napoleon when the footprints had been examined. were a great success. Too amazed and frightened to speak. They were generally hungry. His very first blow took a stable-lad from Foxwood on the skull and stretched him lifeless in the mud. It was as though they had never seen these things before. were a great success. The cows lowed it. Animal Farm was proclaimed a Republic. which had been unknown there since the expulsion of Jones. TWO LEGS BAD.