Animal Farm
I
MR. JONES, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night,but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes. With the ring of lightfrom his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard,kicked off his boots at the back door, drew himself a last glass of beerfrom the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs.Jones was already snoring.
As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring anda fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during theday that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream onthe previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. Ithad been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr.Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major (so he was always called, thoughthe name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was sohighly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour'ssleep in order to hear what he had to say.
At one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major wasalready ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from abeam. He was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he wasstill a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance inspite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. Before long the otheranimals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after theirdifferent fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, andPincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately infront of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, thepigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind thepigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, camein together, walking very slowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofswith great care lest there should be some small animal concealed in thestraw. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who hadnever quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. Boxer was anenormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any twoordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him asomewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rateintelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness ofcharacter and tremendous powers of work. After the horses came Muriel, thewhite goat, and Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on thefarm, and the worst tempered.
He seldom talked, and when he did, it wasusually to make some cynical remark—for instance, he would say that God hadgiven him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have hadno tail and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed.If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. Nevertheless,without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer; the two of themusually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond theorchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.
The two horses had just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which hadlost their mother, filed into the barn, cheeping feebly and wandering fromside to side to find some place where they would not be trodden on. Clovermade a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklingsnestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. At the last moment Mollie,the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap, came mincingdaintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar. She took a place near the frontand began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the redribbons it was plaited with. Last of all came the cat, who looked round, asusual, for the warmest place, and finally squeezed herself in between Boxerand Clover; there she purred contentedly throughout Major's speech withoutlistening to a word of what he was saying.
All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, whoslept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had allmade themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared histhroat and began:
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I hadlast night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else tosay first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for manymonths longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you suchwisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time forthought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understandthe nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It isabout this that I wish to speak to you.