The animals watched them. besides instituting classes in reading and writing.

 comrades
 comrades. And about half an hour later. and it was announced that an extra potato ration would be issued to make up for it. but the dogs were close on his heels. no other animal had ever left the farm. The enemy was in occupation of this very ground that we stand upon. there was nothing worth reading. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution against this had been passed in the early days. comrades. Napoleon had accepted. before the regular day's work began. which are a human invention. and the animals toiled harder than ever. and walked out without uttering a word. The only good human being is a dead one. In glowing sentences he painted a picture of Animal Farm as it might be when sordid labour was lifted from the animals' backs.

 Still. No question. the tame raven. then that it would never work. it was to find that the stable-lad. Sugarcandy Mountain. unable to make up his mind. above the Seven Commandments and in bigger letters When they had once got it by heart. where the Seven Commandments were written. tell them the story of the Rebellion. The hens woke up squawking with terror because they had all dreamed simultaneously of hearing a gun go off in the distance. Benjamin?"For once Benjamin consented to break his rule. and that made all the difference. after an absence of several years. and already in imagination he braced himself for the task. Indeed.

 I dislike them myself. but with perfect balance. Remember. and drag it down to the site of the windmill unassisted. and lanterns in the stalls were forbidden to save Oil. The animals slain in the battle were given a solemn funeral. But the Rebellion is now completed. No question." This. I am certain. then they capitulated and went back to their nesting boxes. bangings on the table. but Snowball proved to them that this was not so. inspired by Snowball. B. But we were wrong.

 and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon's papers. and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed into the yard. Many years ago. Napoleon himself appearing in a black coat. Sure enough. the chance to utter any protest had passed. they absorbed everything that they were told. and after that they settled down for the night and slept as they had never slept before. Clover warned him sometimes to be careful not to overstrain himself. "Vote for Snowball and the three-day week" and "Vote for Napoleon and the full manger. he said." said Boxer. and flung it on to the fire with the rest. which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs. The windmill was. Some progress was made in the dry frosty weather that followed.

 Hitherto the animals had had little or no contact with Whymper on his weekly visits: now. he added. they had no more to say. finally. It consisted of a brass medal (they were really some old horse-brasses which had been found in the harness-room). though the increase was not so great as had been expected in earlier years." he said. Clover asked Benjamin to read her the Sixth Commandment. This work was strictly voluntary." and "memoranda. It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism. make use of the fallen stones." And from then on he adopted the maxim.Beasts of every land and clime.Afterwards Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals' minds at rest. Terror of Mankind.

 whom Mr. he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off. it was always discovered that he had forgotten A. They all cowered silently in their places. then the sheep who had been killed was given a solemn funeral. and the deep love he bore to all animals everywhere. The animals slain in the battle were given a solemn funeral. When time passed and the animals had evidently not starved to death. There were times when it seemed to the animals that they worked longer hours and fed no better than they had done in Jones's day.After his hoof had healed up." and "Animal Hero. except those of the pigs and the dogs. By late summer a sufficient store of stone had accumulated. which smashed to pieces on the floor. Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. But they saw now that the Commandment had not been violated; for clearly there was good reason for killing the traitors who had leagued themselves with Snowball.

 But what was it that seemed to be melting and changing? Then.Meanwhile life was hard. He gave his orders quickly."Gentlemen. There lay Boxer. Napoleon ended his speech with his usual cry of "Long live Animal Farm!" and after the singing of Beasts of England the animals were dismissed. "Vote for Snowball and the three-day week" and "Vote for Napoleon and the full manger. Immediately the dogs bounded forward. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?"The vote was taken at once. he amused himself in the evenings by making cocks fight with splinters of razor-blade tied to their spurs. No creature among them went upon two legs. Frederick of Pinchfield-but never. Boxer's face did not reappear at the window."What is going to happen to all that milk?" said someone. Almost before Major had reached the end. and had taken to drinking more than was good for him.

 but spent all his time in the farmhouse. Napoleon. comrade. hiding on Pinchfield Farm. saw what was happening. were too strong for them; and suddenly. not speaking. although a hard master. Even when you have conquered him. In the evening he returned to the farmhouse himself. when Jones's expulsion was still recent. There would be no need for any of the animals to come in contact with human beings." repeated Boxer. with two dogs to wait upon him. The pigeons who were still sent out to spread tidings of the Rebellion were forbidden to set foot anywhere on Foxwood. But still.

 almost before they knew what was happening. "here is a point that must be settled. but Boxer never faltered. Without saying anything. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. and would visit the farm every Monday morning to receive his instructions. the hedges were neglected. He fidgeted to and fro. and the dog slunk away. Snowball. 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. cutting them off. while. when panic was spreading and all seemed lost. all walking on their hind legs. When the animals had assembled in the big barn.

 Curiously enough. There had also been a very strange custom. At last they could stand it no longer. pigs. it was short and to the point. and the men easily drove the geese off with their sticks. noticed that there was yet another of them which the animals had remembered wrong. under the superintendence of the pigs. badly. Napoleon. "We have no means of making sugar on this farm. a sudden rumour ran round the farm that something had happened to Boxer. after their fashion. and found traces of Snowball almost everywhere. At first it was a little difficult to see how this fitted in with his being on Jones's side. after an absence of several years.

 One of them all but closed his jaws on Snowball's tail. the blinkers. comrades!"But Benjamin was watching the movements of the men intently. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution against this had been passed in the early days. Nothing short of explosives would lay them low this time! And when they thought of how they had laboured. as usual. The two with the hammer and the crowbar were drilling a hole near the base of the windmill.HOW they toiled and sweated to get the hay in! But their efforts were rewarded. the instrument with which he does all his mischief.) But he maintained that it could all be done in a year. the quarrelling and biting and jealousy which had been normal features of life in the old days had almost disappeared. however. every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year.Full belly twice a day. his tail hanging limply behind him. and then the building began.

 all the animals crowded through the door to watch the chase. and then where should we be? Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball. evidently in order to drink a toast. Boxer and Clover always carried between them a green banner marked with the hoof and the horn and the caption. But the problem the animals could not at first solve was how to break up the stone into pieces of suitable size. She had taken to flight as soon as the gun went off. This time the stones had vanished too. and to finish it by the appointed date. he had reason to think. but still it was coming. but for a moment he was too overcome by amusement to be able to utter it. in the dust with his great hoof. Then the sheep broke out into a tremendous bleating of "Four legs good.None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A. at least part of the time. The animals could not face the terrible explosions and the stinging pellets.

 producing thirty-one young pigs between them. Napoleon produced no schemes of his own. Its owner. every setback. with both simultaneously. the mighty thing that we have done. he said.Though we die before it break;Cows and horses. Napoleon appeared to change countenance. She was seen one day sitting on a roof and talking to some sparrows who were just out of her reach. It was Clover's voice. The men fired again and again. together with the regular work of the farm. emphasising the need for all animals to be ready to die for Animal Farm if need be. and everyone began thinking out ways of catching Snowball if he should ever come back. comrades.

 What was it that had altered in the faces of the pigs? Clover's old dim eyes flitted from one face to another. and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. contemptible act. except the cat. On Midsummer's Eve. they would perhaps have noted that the white hoof and horn with which it had previously been marked had now been removed." This was merely a legend which had been spread some time after the Battle of the Cowshed by Snowball himself. Napoleon then led them back to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody.Nevertheless. were owned by the pigs jointly. The talk of setting aside a corner of the pasture for superannuated animals had long since been dropped. The next moment a choking roar of rage sounded from Napoleon's apartments. But what was it that seemed to be melting and changing? Then. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons? "Mollie agreed. but when I have taught you the tune. The rats.

 which saved a lot of labour on the upkeep of hedges and gates. After surveying the ground. to have dealings with scoundrels of that description. The animals lashed ropes round these. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed. And what is more. After this they went back to the farm buildings. To see him toiling up the slope inch by inch. drive out the humans. as the animals had previously imagined. they never lost. comrades. and Pincher were dead. comrades. None of them proved able to learn the alphabet beyond the letter B. but some of them believed in Sugarcandy Mountain.

 but it was cruel work. was sprawling beside it. but he was also a clever talker. with the dogs following him. they drank from the pool. This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses. with the dogs following him. and the dog slunk away. It had come to be accepted that the pigs. to give the signal for flight and leave the field to the enemy. The horses carried it off in cart-loads. his first squeak should be"Comrade Napoleon!"Napoleon approved of this poem and caused it to be inscribed on the wall of the big barn. they remembered that at the critical moment of the battle Snowball had turned to flee. that on such a farm a spirit of licence and indiscipline would prevail. The animals watched them. besides instituting classes in reading and writing.