gù shì fā shēng zài màn nà zhuāng yuán lǐ。 zhè tiān wǎn shàng， zhuāng yuán de zhù rén qióng sī xiān shēng shuō shì yǐ jīng suǒ hǎo liǎo jī péng， dàn yóu yú tā hē dé zuì yì shí zú， jìng bǎ lǐ miàn de nà xiē xiǎo mén dū wàng liǎo guān shàng。 tā tí zhe mǎ dēng liàngliàng qiàng qiàng dì chuān guò yuàn zǐ， mǎ dēng guāng yě gēn zhe yī zhí bù tíng dì huàng lái huàng qù， dào liǎo hòu mén， tā bǎ xuē zǐ yī jiǎo yī zhǐ tī liǎo chū qù， yòu cóng xǐ wǎn jiān de jiǔ tǒng lǐ yǎo qǐ zuì hòu yī bēi pí jiǔ， yī yǐn 'ér jìn， rán hòu cái shàng chuáng xiū xī。 cǐ shí， chuáng shàng de qióng sī fū rén yǐ shì hān shēng rú léi liǎo。
děng nà biān zhuāng zhù yuàn wò shì lǐ de dēng guāng yī xī miè， zhěng gè zhuāng yuán wō péng lǐ jiù fàn qǐ yī zhèn pū pū téng téng de sāo dòng。 hái zài bái tiān de shí hòu， zhuāng yuán lǐ jiù fēng chuán zhe yī jiàn shì， shuō shì lǎo mài zhé， jiù shì dé guò“ zhōng děng bái zōng máo” jiǎng de nà tóu xióng zhū， zài qián yī tiān wǎn shàng zuò liǎo yī gè qí guài de mèng， xiǎng yào chuán dá gěi qí tā dòng wù。 lǎo mài zhé（ tā yī zhí bèi zhè yàng chēng hū， jìn guǎn tā zài cān jiā zhǎn lǎn shí yòng de míng zì shì“ wēi líng dùn měi shén”） zài zhuāng yuán liǎo yī zhí dé gāo wàng zhòng， suǒ yǐ dòng wù men wèile líng tīng tā xiǎng yào jiǎng de shì qíng， dū shí fēn lè yì xī shēng yī xiǎo shí de shuì mián。 dāng shí， dà jiādōu yǐ jīng tóng yì， děng qióng sī xiān shēng wán quán zǒu kāi hòu， tā men jiù dào dà gǔ cāng nèi jí hé。
zài dà gǔ cāng yī tóu yī gè tū qǐ de tái zǐ shàng， mài zhé yǐ jīng 'ān wěn dì zuò zài cǎo diàn zǐ shàng liǎo， zài tā tóu dǐng shàng fāng de fáng liáng shàng xuán guà zhe yī zhǎn mǎ dēng。 tā yǐ jīng shí 'èr suì liǎo， jìn lái cháng dé yòu xiē fā pàng， dàn tā yǐ rán yí biǎo táng táng。 jìn guǎn shì shí shàng tā de quǎn yá cóng lái méi yòu gē jiǎn guò， zhè yě bìng bù fáng 'ài tā miàn dài zhe zhì huì hé cí xiáng。 bù yī huì， dòng wù men kāi shǐ lù xù gǎn lái， bìng 'àn gè zì bù tóng de fāng shì zuò wěn liǎo。 zuì xiān dào lái de shì sān tiáo gǒu， bù lǔ bài 'ěr、 jié xī hé píng chè， zhū suí hòu zǒu jìn lái， bìng lì jí zuò zài tái zǐ qián miàn de dào cǎo shàng。 jī qī zài chuāng tái shàng， gē zǐ pū téng shàng liǎo fáng liáng， yáng hé niú tǎng zài zhū shēn hòu bìng kāi shǐ dǎojiào qǐ lái。 liǎng pǐ tào sì lún huò chē de mǎ， bào kè sè hé kè lā fú， yī kuài gǎn lái， tā men zǒu jìn shí zǒude hěn màn， měi dāng tā men zài làxià nà jù dà de máo hū hū de tí zǐ shí， zǒng shì xiǎo xīn yì yì， shēng pà cǎo duī lǐ cáng zhe shénme xiǎo dòng wù。 kè lā fú shì yī pǐ cū zhuàng 'ér cí 'ài de mǔ mǎ， jiē jìn zhōng nián。 tā zài shēng liǎo dì sì gè xiǎo jū zhī hòu， tǐ xíng zài yě méi yòu néng huī fù yuán yàng。 bào kè sè shēn cái gāo dà， yòu jìn liǎng mǐ gāo de gè tóu， qiáng zhuàng dé sài guò liǎng pǐ pǔ tōng mǎ xiāng jiā， bù guò， tā liǎn shàng cháng liǎo yī dào zhí dào bí zǐ de bái máo， duō shǎo xiǎn dé yòu xiē gàng xiāng。 shí jì shàng， tā què shí bù zěn me cōng míng， dàn tā jiān rèn bù bá de gè xìng hé gànhuó shí nà gǔ shí zú de jìn tóu， shǐ tā yíng dé liǎo pǔ biàn de zūn jìng。 gēn zhe mǎ hòu miàn dào de shì bái shān yáng mù lì 'ěr， hái yòu nà tóu lǘ， běn jié míng。 běn jié míng shì zhuāng yuán lǐ nián líng zuì lǎo de dòng wù， pí qì yě zuì zāo， tā chén mò guǎ yán， bù kāi kǒu zé yǐ， yī kāi kǒu jiù shǎo bù liǎo shuō yī xiē fēng liáng huà。 pì rú， tā huì shuō shàng dì gěi liǎo tā wěi bā shì wéi liǎo qū gǎn cāng yíng， dàn tā què nìngyuàn méi yòu wěi bā yě méi yòu cāng yíng。 zhuāng yuán lǐ de dòng wù zhōng， wéi yòu tā cóng lái méi yòu xiào guò， yào wèn wèishénme， tā huì shuō tā méi yòu kàn jiàn shénme zhí dé hǎo xiào de。 rán 'ér tā duì bào kè sè què shì zhēn chéng xiāng dài， zhǐ bù guò méi yòu gōng kāi chéng rèn bà liǎo。 tōng cháng， tā liǎ zǒng shì yī qǐ zài guǒ yuán nà biān de xiǎo mù chǎng shàng xiāo mó xīng qī tiān， jiān bìng zhe jiān， mò mò dì chī cǎo。
zhè liǎng pǐ mǎ gāng tǎng xià， yī qún shī qù liǎo mā mā de xiǎo yā zǐ pái chéng yī liù jìn liǎo dà gǔ cāng， zī zī zhā zhā， dōng zhāng xī wàng， xiǎng zhǎo yī chù bù huì bèi cǎi shàng de dì fāng。 kè lā fú yòng tā cū zhuàng de qián tuǐ xiàng qiáng yī yàng dì wéi zhù tā men， xiǎo yā zǐ wēi yǐ zài lǐ miàn， hěn kuài jiù rù shuì liǎo。 mò lì lái dé hěn wǎn， zhè gè yú chǔn de jiā huǒ， cháng zhe yī shēn bái shēng shēng de máo， shì yī pǐ tào qióng sī xiān shēng zuò chē de mǔ mǎ。 tā niǔ niǔ niē niē dì zǒu jìn lái， yī diān yī diān dì， zuǐ lǐ hái jiáo zhe yī kuài táng。 tā zhàn liǎo gè kào qián de wèi zhì， jiù kāi shǐ dǒu dòng qǐ tā de bái zōng máo， shì tú xuàn yào yī fān nà xiē zhā zài zōng máo shàng de hóng shì dài。 māo shì zuì hòu yī gè lái de， tā xiàng wǎng cháng yī yàng， dào chù xún zhǎo zuì rè hū de dì fāng， zuì hòu zài bào kè sè hé kè lā fú dāng zhōng jǐ liǎo jìn qù。 zài mài zhé jiǎng yǎn shí， tā zài nà 'ér zì shǐ zhì zhōng dū dé yì dì fā chū“ gū gū lū lū” de shēng yīn， yā gēn 'ér méi tīng jìn mài zhé jiǎng de yī gè zì。
nà zhǐ xùn shùn liǎo de wū yā mó xī shuì zài zhuāng zhù yuàn hòu mén bèi hòu de jià zǐ shàng， chú tā zhī wài， suǒ yòu de dòng wù dōuyǐ dào chǎng， kàn dào tā mendōu zuò wěn liǎo， bìng jù jīng huì shén dì děng dài zhe， mài zhé qīng liǎo qīng hóu lóng， kāi kǒu shuō dào：
“ tóng zhì men， wǒ zuó wǎn zuò liǎo yī gè qí guài de mèng， zhè gè nǐ mendōu yǐ jīng tīng shuō liǎo， dàn wǒ xiǎng děng yī huì zài tí tā。 wǒ xiǎng xiān shuō diǎn bié de shì。 tóng zhì men， wǒ xiǎng wǒ hé nǐ men zài yī qǐ dāi bù liǎo duō jiǔ liǎo。 zài wǒ lín sǐ zhī qián， wǒ jué dé yòu zé rèn bǎ wǒ yǐ jīng huò dé de zhì huì chuán shòu gěi nǐ men。 wǒ huó liǎo yī bèi zǐ， dāng wǒ dú zì tǎng zài juàn zhōng shí， wǒ zǒng zài sī suǒ， wǒ xiǎng wǒ gǎn shuō， rú tóng rèn hé yī gè jiàn zài de dòng wù yī yàng， wǒ wù chū liǎo yī gè dào lǐ， nà jiù shì huó zài shì shàng shì zěn me huí shì。 zhè jiù shì wǒ yào gěi nǐ men jiǎng de wèn tí。
“ nà me， tóng zhì men， wǒ men yòu shì zěn me shēng huó de ní？ ràng wǒ men lái kàn yī kàn bā： wǒ men de yī shēng shì duǎn zàn de， què shì qī cǎn 'ér jiān xīn。 yī shēng xià lái， wǒ men dé dào de shí wù bù guò jǐn jǐn shǐ wǒ men gǒu yán cán chuǎn 'ér yǐ， dàn shì， zhǐ yào wǒ men hái néng dòng yī xià， wǒ men biàn huì bèi qū gǎn zhe qù gān huó， zhí dào yòng jìn zuì hòu yī sī lì qì， yī dàn wǒ men de yóu shuǐ bèi zhà gān， wǒ men jiù huì zài nán yǐ zhì xìn de cán rěn xià bèi zǎi shā。 zài yīng gé lán de dòng wù zhōng， méi yòu yī gè dòng wù zài yī suì zhī hòu dǒng dé shénme shì xìng fú huò kòngxián de hán yì。 méi yòu yī gè shì zì yóu de。 xiǎn 'ér yì jiàn， dòng wù de yī shēng shì tòng kǔ de、 bèi shòu nú yì de yī shēng。
“ dàn shì， zhè zhēn de shì mìng zhōng zhù dìng de má？ nà xiē shēngzhǎng zài zhè lǐ de dòng wù zhī suǒ yǐ bù néng guò shàng shū shì de shēng huó， nán dào shì yīn wéi wǒ men zhè kuài tǔ dì tài pín jí liǎo má？ bù！ tóng zhì men！ yī qiān gè bù！ yīng gé lán tǔ dì féi wò， qì hòu shì yí， tā kě yǐ tí gōng fēng fù de shí wù， kě yǐ yǎng huó wéi shù bǐ xiàn zài duō dé duō de dòng wù。 ná wǒ men zhè yī gè zhuāng yuán lái shuō， jiù zú yǐ yǎng huó shí 'èr pǐ mǎ、 èr shí tóu niú hé shù bǎi zhǐ yáng， ér qiě wǒ men shèn zhì wú fǎ xiǎng xiàng， tā men huì guò dé duō me shū shì， huó dé duō me tǐ miàn。 nà me， wèishénme wǒ men de bēi cǎn jìng kuàng méi yòu dé dào gǎi biàn ní？ zhè shì yīn wéi， jīhū wǒ men de quán bù láo dòng suǒ dé dōubèi rén lèi qiè qǔ zǒu liǎo。 tóng zhì men， yòu yī gè dá 'àn kě yǐ jiě dá wǒ men de suǒ yǐ wèn tí， wǒ kě yǐ bǎ tā zǒng jié wéi yī gè zì héng héng rén， rén jiù shì wǒ men wéi yī zhēn zhèng de chóu dí。 bǎ rén cóng wǒ men de shēng huó zhōng xiāo chú diào， jī 'è yǔ guò dù láolèi de gēn zǐ jiù huì yǒng yuǎn bá diào。
“ rén shì yī zhǒng zuì kě lián de jiā huǒ， shénme dū chǎn bù liǎo， zhǐ huì huī huò。 nà xiē jiā huǒ chǎn bù liǎo nǎi， yě xià bù liǎo dàn， shòu ruò dé lā bù dòng lí， páo qǐ lái yě shì màn tūn tūn de， lián gè tù zǐ dū dài bù zhù。 kě nà jiā huǒ què shì suǒ yòu dòng wù de zhù zǎi， tā qū shǐ tā men qù gān huó， gěi tā men bào cháng què zhǐ shì yī diǎn shǎo dé bù néng zài shǎo de cǎo liào， jǐn gòu tā men hú kǒu 'ér yǐ。 ér tā men láo dòng suǒ dé de qí yú de yī qiē zé dōubèi tā jù wéi jǐ yòu。 shì wǒ men liúxiě liú hàn zài gēng yún zhè kuài tǔ dì， shì wǒ men de fèn biàn shǐ tā féi wò， kě wǒ men zì jǐ chú liǎo zhè yī fù kōng pí náng zhī wài， yòu dé dào liǎo shénme ní！ nǐ men zhè xiē zuò zài wǒ miàn qián de niú， qù nián yī nián lǐ， nǐ men yǐ chǎn guò duō shǎo jiā lún de nǎi ní！ nà xiē běn lái kě yǐ wèi yǎng chū xǔ duō qiáng zhuàng de niú dú de nǎi yòu dào nǎ 'ér qù liǎo ní？ měi yī dī dū liú jìn liǎo wǒ men chóu dí de hóu lóng lǐ。 hái yòu nǐ men zhè xiē jī、 zhè yī nián lǐ nǐ men yǐ xià liǎo duō shǎo zhǐ dàn ní？ kě yòu yòu duō shǎo fū chéng liǎo xiǎo jī？ nà xiē méi yòu fū huà de jī dàn dōubèi ná dào shì chǎng shàng wéi qióng sī hé tā de huǒ jì men huàn chéng liǎo chāo piào！ nǐ ní， kè lā fú， nǐ de sì pǐ xiǎo mǎ jū dào nǎ 'ér qù liǎo？ tā men běn lái shì nǐ wǎn nián de 'ān wèi hé jì tuō！ ér tā men què dōuzài yī suì shí gěi mài diào liǎo， nǐ yǒng yuǎn yě wú fǎ zài jiàn dào tā men liǎo。 bǔ cháng gěi nǐ zhè sì cì zuò yuè zǐ hé zài dì lǐ láo zuò de， chú liǎo nà diǎn kě lián de sì liào hé yī jiān mǎ jiù wài， hái yòu shénme ní？
“ jiù shì guò zhe zhè yàng bēi cǎn de shēng huó， wǒ men yě bù néng bèi yǔn xǔ xiǎng jìn tiān nián。 ná wǒ zì jǐ lái shuō， wǒ wú kě bào yuàn， yīn wéi wǒ suàn shì xìng yùn de。 wǒ shí 'èr suì liǎo， yǐ yòu sì bǎi duō gè hái zǐ， zhè duì yī gè zhū lái shuō jiù shì yīngyǒu de shēng huó liǎo。 dàn shì， dào tóu lái méi yòu yī gè dòng wù néng táo guò nà cán rěn de yī dāo。 nǐ men zhè xiē zuò zài wǒ miàn qián de xiǎo ròu zhū men， bù chū yī nián， nǐ men dū jiāng zài dāo jià shàng háo jiào zhe duàn sòng xìng mìng。 zhè kǒng bù jiù shì wǒ men héng héng niú、 zhū、 jī、 yáng děng děng měi yī wèi dū nán táo de jié jú。 jiù shì mǎ hé gǒu de mìng yùn yě hǎo bù liǎo duō shǎo。 nǐ， bào kè sè， yòu cháo yī rì nǐ nà qiáng jiàn de jī ròu shī qù liǎo lì qì， qióng sī jiù huì bǎ nǐ mài gěi tú mǎ shāng， tú mǎ shāng huì gē duàn nǐ de hóu lóng， bǎ nǐ zhǔ liǎo gěi liè gǒu chī。 ér gǒu ní， děng tā men lǎo liǎo， yá yě diào guāng liǎo， qióng sī jiù huì jiù jìn zhǎo gè chí táng， nòng kuài zhuān tóu shuān zài tā men de bó zǐ shàng， bǎ tā men chén dào shuǐ dǐ。
“ nà me， tóng zhì men， wǒ men zhè zhǒng shēng huó de huò gēn lái zì bào nüè de rén lèi， zhè yī diǎn nán dào bù shì yī qīng 'èr chǔ de má？ zhǐ yào qū chú liǎo rén， wǒ men de láo dòng suǒ dé jiù huì quán guī wǒ men zì jǐ， ér qiě jīhū zài yī yè zhī jiān， wǒ men jiù huì biàn dé fù yù 'ér zì yóu。 nà me wǒ men yīnggāi wèicǐ zuò xiē shénme ní？ háo wú yí wèn， fèn dǒu！ wèile xiāo chú rén lèi， quán lì yǐ fù， bù fēn zhòu yè dì fèn dǒu！ tóng zhì men， wǒ yào gào sù nǐ men de jiù shì zhè gè： zào fǎn！ lǎo shí shuō， wǒ yě bù zhī dào zào fǎn huì zài hé shí fā shēng， huò xǔ jìn zài yī zhōu zhī nèi， huò xǔ yuǎn zài bǎi nián zhī hòu。 dàn wǒ què xìn， jiù xiàng kàn dào wǒ tí zǐ dǐ xià de dào cǎo yī yàng què záo wú yí， zǒng yòu yī tiān， zhèng yì yào shēn zhāng。 tóng zhì men， zài nǐ men zhěng gè duǎn zàn de yú shēng zhōng， bù yào piān lí zhè gè mù biāo！ yóu qí shì， bǎ wǒ shuō de fú yīn chuán gěi nǐ men de hòu dài， zhè yàng， wèi lái de yī dài yī dài dòng wù jiù huì jì xù zhè yī dǒu zhēng， zhí dào qǔ dé zuì hòu shèng lì。
“ jì zhù， tóng zhì men， nǐ men de shì yuàn jué bù kě dòng yáo， nǐ men jué bù yào ràng rèn hé tián yán mì yǔ bǎ nǐ men yǐn rù qí tú。 dāng tā men gào sù nǐ men shénme rén yǔ dòng wù yòu zhe gòng tóng lì yì， shénme yī fāng de xīng shuāi jiù shì lìng yī fāng de xīng shuāi， qiān wàn bù yào tīng xìn nà zhǒng huà， nà quán shì chè tóu chè wěi de huǎng yán。 rén xīn lǐ xiǎng de shì qíng zhǐ yòu tā zì jǐ de lì yì， cǐ wài bié wú tā yòu。 ràng wǒ men zài dǒu zhēng zhōng xié diào yī zhì， qíng tóng shǒu zú。 suǒ yǐ de réndōu shì chóu dí， suǒ yòu de dòng wù dōushì tóng zhì”。
jiù zài zhè shí kè， xiǎng qǐ liǎo yī zhèn cì 'ěr de cáo zá shēng。 yuán lái， zài mài zhé jiǎng huà shí， yòu sì zhǐ gè tóu tǐng dà de hào zǐ pá chū dòng kǒu， dūn zuò zài hòu tuǐ shàng tīng tā yǎn jiǎng， tū rán jiān bèi gǒu qiáo jiàn， xìng kuī tā men xùn sù cuàn huí dòng nèi， cái miǎn zāo yī sǐ。 mài zhé tái qǐ qián tí， píng jìng liǎo yī xià qì fēn：
“ tóng zhì men”， tā shuō，“ zhè lǐ yòu yī diǎn bì xū chéng qīng。 yě shēng de shēng líng， bǐ rú hào zǐ hé tù zǐ， shì wǒ men de qīn yǒu ní hái shì chóu dí？ ràng wǒ men biǎo jué yī xià bā， wǒ xiàng huì yì tí chū zhè gè yì tí： hào zǐ shì tóng zhì má？”
biǎo jué lì jí jìn xíng， yā dǎo duō shù de dòng wù tóng yì hào zǐ shì tóng zhì。 yòu sì gè tóu liǎo fǎn duì piào， shì sān tiáo gǒu hé yī zhǐ māo。 hòu lái cái fā xiàn tā men qí shí tóu liǎo liǎng cì piào， bāo kuò fǎn duì piào hé zàn chéng piào。 mài zhé jì xù shuō dào：
“ wǒ hái yòu yī diǎn yào bǔ chōng。 wǒ zhǐ shì chóngshēn yī xià， yǒng yuǎn jì zhù nǐ men de zé rèn shì yǔ rén lèi jí qí xí guàn shì bù liǎng lì。 suǒ yòu kào liǎng tiáo tuǐ xíng zǒu dedōu shì chóu dí， suǒ yòu kào sì zhī xíng zǒu de， huò zhě yòu chì bǎng de， dōushì qīn yǒu。 hái yòu jì zhù： zài tóng rén lèi zuò dǒu zhēng de guò chéng zhōng， wǒ men jiù bù yào mó fǎng tā men。 jí shǐ zhēng fú liǎo tā men， yě jué bù yán yòng tā men de 'è xí。 shì dòng wù jiù jué bù zhù zài fáng wū lǐ， jué bù shuì zài chuáng shàng， jué bù chuān yī、 hē jiǔ、 chōu yān， jué bù jiē chù chāo piào， cóng shì jiāo yì。 fán shì rén de xí guàn dōushì de。 ér qiě， qiān wàn yào zhù yì， rèn hé dòng wù dōubù néng qī yā zì jǐ de tóng lèi。 bù lùn shì shòu ruò de hái shì qiáng zhuàng de； bù lùn shì cōng míng de hái shì chí dùn de， wǒ mendōu shì xiōng dì。 rèn hé dòng wù dōubù dé shāng hài qí tā dòng wù。 suǒ yòu de dòng wù yī lǜ píng děng。
“ xiàn zài， tóng zhì men， wǒ lái tán tán guān yú zuó wǎn nà gè mèng de shì。 nà shì yī gè zài xiāo miè liǎo rén lèi zhī hòu de wèi lái shì jiè de mèng xiǎng， wǒ wú fǎ bǎ tā miáo shù chū lái。 dàn tā tí xǐng liǎo wǒ yī xiē zǎo yǐ wàng què de shì qíng。 hěn duō nián yǐ qián， dāng wǒ hái shì tóu xiǎo zhū shí， wǒ mǔ qīn hé qí tā mǔ zhū jīng cháng chàng yī zhǐ gǔ lǎo de gē， nà zhī gē， lián tā men yě zhǐ jì dé gè qǔdiào hé tóu sān jù gē cí。 wǒ hěn xiǎo de shí hòu jiù duì nà qū diào shú xī liǎo。 dàn wǒ yě wàng liǎo hěn jiǔ liǎo。 rán 'ér zuó tiān wǎn shàng， wǒ yòu zài mèng zhōng huí xiǎng qǐ lái liǎo， gèng miào de shì， gē cí yě zài mèng zhōng chū xiàn， zhè gē cí， wǒ gǎn kěn dìng， jiù shì hěn jiǔ yǐ qián de dòng wù chàng de、 bìng qiě shī chuán hěn duō dài de nà shǒu gē cí。 xiàn zài wǒ jiù xiǎng chàng gěi nǐ men tīng tīng， tóng zhì men， wǒ lǎo liǎo， sǎng yīn yě shā yǎ liǎo， dàn děng wǒ bǎ nǐ men jiào huì liǎo， nǐ men huì chàng dé gèng hǎo de。 tā jiào ‘ yīng gé lán shòu ’。”
lǎo mài zhé qīng liǎo qīng sǎng zǐ jiù kāi shǐ chàng liǎo qǐ lái， zhèng rú tā shuō de nà yàng， tā shēng yīn shā yǎ， dàn chàng dé hěn bù cuò。 nà shǒu gēqǔ diào kāng kǎi jī 'áng， xuán lǜ yòu diǎn jiè yú“ Clementine” hé“ LaCucuracha” zhī jiān。 gē cí shì zhè yàng de：
yīng gé lán shòu， ài 'ěr lán shòu，
pǔ tiān zhī xià de shòu，
qīng tīng wǒ xǐ yuè de jiā yīn，
qīng tīng nà jīn sè de wèi lái。
nà yī tiān chí zǎo yào dào lái，
bào nüè de rén lèi zhōng jiāng xiāo miè，
fù ráo de yīng gé lán dà dì，
jiāng zhǐ liú xià wǒ men de zú jì。
wǒ men de bí zhōng bù zài kòu huán，
wǒ men de bèi shàng bù zài pèi 'ān，
jué zǐ、 mǎ cì huì yǒng yuǎn xiù shí
bù zài yòu cán kù de biān zǐ pī pā chōu shǎn。
nà nán yǐ xiǎng xiàng de fù yù shēng huó，
xiǎo mài、 dà mài、 gān cǎo、 yàn mài
mù sù、 dà dòu hái yòu tián cài，
nà yī tiān jiāng quán guī wǒ chái。
nà yī tiān wǒ men jiāng zì yóu jiě fàng，
yáng guāng pǔ zhào yīng gé lán dà dì，
shuǐ huì gèng chún jìng，
fēng yě gèng róu yì。
nǎ pà wǒ men huó bù dào nà yī tiān，
dàn wèile nà yī tiān wǒ men qǐ néng děng xián，
niú、 mǎ、 é、 jī
wéi zì yóu wù xū liú xuè hàn。
yīng gé lán shòu、 ài 'ěr lán shòu，
pǔ tiān zhī xià de shòu，
qīng tīng wǒ xǐ yuè de jiā yīn，
qīng tīng nà jīn sè de wèi lái。
chàng zhe zhè zhī gē， dòng wù men xiàn rù liǎo qíng bù zì jìn de kàng fèn zhī zhōng。 jīhū hái méi yòu děng mài zhé chàng wán， tā men yǐ jīng kāi shǐ zì jǐ chàng liǎo。 lián zuì chí dùn de dòng wù yě yǐ jīng xué huì liǎo qū diào hé gè bié gē cí liǎo。 cōng míng yī xiē de， rú zhū hé gǒu， jǐ fēn zhōng nèi jiù quán bù jì zhù liǎo zhěng shǒu gē。 rán hòu， tā men shāo jiā jǐ cì cháng shì， jiù tū rán jiān qí shēng hé chàng qǐ lái， zhěng gè zhuāng yuán dùn shí huí dàng zhe zhè zhèn tiān dòng dì de gē shēng。 niú mōu mōu dì jiào， gǒu wāng wāng dì fèi， yáng miē miē dì hǎn， mǎ sī sī dì míng， yā zǐ gā gā dì huàn。 chàng zhe zhè shǒu gē， tā men shì duō me dì xīng fèn， yǐ zhì yú zhěng zhěng lián zhe chàng liǎo wǔ biàn， yào bù shì zhōng tú bèi dǎ duàn， tā men zhēn yòu kě néng chàng gè tōng xiāo。
bù qiǎo， xuān 'áo shēng chǎo xǐng liǎo qióng sī xiān shēng， tā zì yǐ wéi shì yuàn zǐ zhōng lái liǎo hú lí， biàn tiào xià chuáng， cāo qǐ nà zhī zǒng shì fàng zài wò shì qiáng jiǎo de liè qiāng， yòng zhuāng zài táng lǐ de liù hào zǐ dàn duì zhe hēi 'àn chù kāi liǎo yī qiāng， dàn lì shè jìn dà gǔ cāng de qiáng lǐ。 huì yì jiù cǐ cōng cōng jiě sàn。 dòng wù men fēn fēn liù huí zì jǐ de wō péng。 jiā qín tiào shàng liǎo tā men de jià zǐ， jiā chù wò dào liǎo cǎo duī lǐ， qǐng kè zhī jiān， zhuāng yuán biàn chén jì xià lái。
As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had 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, though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say.
At one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. He was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he was still a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance in spite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, came in together, walking very slowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there should be some small animal concealed in the straw. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work. After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark-for instance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no 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 them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.
The two horses had just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had lost their mother, filed into the barn, cheeping feebly and wandering from side to side to find some place where they would not be trodden on. Clover made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklings nestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar. She took a place near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with. Last of all came the cat, who looked round, as usual, for the warmest place, and finally squeezed herself in between Boxer and Clover; there she purred contentedly throughout Major's speech without listening to a word of what he was saying.
All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began:
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.
"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.
"But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The soil of England is fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep-and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.
"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, 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. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old-you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?
"And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come-cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.
"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. A1most overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious.
"And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades."
At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four large rats had crept out of their holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence.
"Comrades," he said, "here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits-are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?"
The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides. Major continued:
"I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.
"And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot describe that dream to you. It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind. Last night, however, it came back to me in my dream. And what is more, the words of the song also came back-words, I am certain, which were sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called Beasts of England."
Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice was hoarse, but he sang well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. The words ran:
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings
Of the golden future time.
Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone.
Rings shall vanish from our noses,
And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.
Riches more than mind can picture,
Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels
Shall be ours upon that day.
Bright will shine the fields of England,
Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes
On the day that sets us free.
For that day we all must labour,
Though we die before it break;
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom's sake.
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken well and spread my tidings
Of the golden future time.
The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almost before Major had reached the end, they had begun singing it for themselves. Even the stupidest of them had already picked up the tune and a few of the words, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs, they had the entire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into Beasts of England in tremendous unison. The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession, and might have continued singing it all night if they had not been interrupted.
Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr. Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a fox in the yard. He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly. Everyone fled to his own sleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment.
děng nà biān zhuāng zhù yuàn wò shì lǐ de dēng guāng yī xī miè， zhěng gè zhuāng yuán wō péng lǐ jiù fàn qǐ yī zhèn pū pū téng téng de sāo dòng。 hái zài bái tiān de shí hòu， zhuāng yuán lǐ jiù fēng chuán zhe yī jiàn shì， shuō shì lǎo mài zhé， jiù shì dé guò“ zhōng děng bái zōng máo” jiǎng de nà tóu xióng zhū， zài qián yī tiān wǎn shàng zuò liǎo yī gè qí guài de mèng， xiǎng yào chuán dá gěi qí tā dòng wù。 lǎo mài zhé（ tā yī zhí bèi zhè yàng chēng hū， jìn guǎn tā zài cān jiā zhǎn lǎn shí yòng de míng zì shì“ wēi líng dùn měi shén”） zài zhuāng yuán liǎo yī zhí dé gāo wàng zhòng， suǒ yǐ dòng wù men wèile líng tīng tā xiǎng yào jiǎng de shì qíng， dū shí fēn lè yì xī shēng yī xiǎo shí de shuì mián。 dāng shí， dà jiādōu yǐ jīng tóng yì， děng qióng sī xiān shēng wán quán zǒu kāi hòu， tā men jiù dào dà gǔ cāng nèi jí hé。
zài dà gǔ cāng yī tóu yī gè tū qǐ de tái zǐ shàng， mài zhé yǐ jīng 'ān wěn dì zuò zài cǎo diàn zǐ shàng liǎo， zài tā tóu dǐng shàng fāng de fáng liáng shàng xuán guà zhe yī zhǎn mǎ dēng。 tā yǐ jīng shí 'èr suì liǎo， jìn lái cháng dé yòu xiē fā pàng， dàn tā yǐ rán yí biǎo táng táng。 jìn guǎn shì shí shàng tā de quǎn yá cóng lái méi yòu gē jiǎn guò， zhè yě bìng bù fáng 'ài tā miàn dài zhe zhì huì hé cí xiáng。 bù yī huì， dòng wù men kāi shǐ lù xù gǎn lái， bìng 'àn gè zì bù tóng de fāng shì zuò wěn liǎo。 zuì xiān dào lái de shì sān tiáo gǒu， bù lǔ bài 'ěr、 jié xī hé píng chè， zhū suí hòu zǒu jìn lái， bìng lì jí zuò zài tái zǐ qián miàn de dào cǎo shàng。 jī qī zài chuāng tái shàng， gē zǐ pū téng shàng liǎo fáng liáng， yáng hé niú tǎng zài zhū shēn hòu bìng kāi shǐ dǎojiào qǐ lái。 liǎng pǐ tào sì lún huò chē de mǎ， bào kè sè hé kè lā fú， yī kuài gǎn lái， tā men zǒu jìn shí zǒude hěn màn， měi dāng tā men zài làxià nà jù dà de máo hū hū de tí zǐ shí， zǒng shì xiǎo xīn yì yì， shēng pà cǎo duī lǐ cáng zhe shénme xiǎo dòng wù。 kè lā fú shì yī pǐ cū zhuàng 'ér cí 'ài de mǔ mǎ， jiē jìn zhōng nián。 tā zài shēng liǎo dì sì gè xiǎo jū zhī hòu， tǐ xíng zài yě méi yòu néng huī fù yuán yàng。 bào kè sè shēn cái gāo dà， yòu jìn liǎng mǐ gāo de gè tóu， qiáng zhuàng dé sài guò liǎng pǐ pǔ tōng mǎ xiāng jiā， bù guò， tā liǎn shàng cháng liǎo yī dào zhí dào bí zǐ de bái máo， duō shǎo xiǎn dé yòu xiē gàng xiāng。 shí jì shàng， tā què shí bù zěn me cōng míng， dàn tā jiān rèn bù bá de gè xìng hé gànhuó shí nà gǔ shí zú de jìn tóu， shǐ tā yíng dé liǎo pǔ biàn de zūn jìng。 gēn zhe mǎ hòu miàn dào de shì bái shān yáng mù lì 'ěr， hái yòu nà tóu lǘ， běn jié míng。 běn jié míng shì zhuāng yuán lǐ nián líng zuì lǎo de dòng wù， pí qì yě zuì zāo， tā chén mò guǎ yán， bù kāi kǒu zé yǐ， yī kāi kǒu jiù shǎo bù liǎo shuō yī xiē fēng liáng huà。 pì rú， tā huì shuō shàng dì gěi liǎo tā wěi bā shì wéi liǎo qū gǎn cāng yíng， dàn tā què nìngyuàn méi yòu wěi bā yě méi yòu cāng yíng。 zhuāng yuán lǐ de dòng wù zhōng， wéi yòu tā cóng lái méi yòu xiào guò， yào wèn wèishénme， tā huì shuō tā méi yòu kàn jiàn shénme zhí dé hǎo xiào de。 rán 'ér tā duì bào kè sè què shì zhēn chéng xiāng dài， zhǐ bù guò méi yòu gōng kāi chéng rèn bà liǎo。 tōng cháng， tā liǎ zǒng shì yī qǐ zài guǒ yuán nà biān de xiǎo mù chǎng shàng xiāo mó xīng qī tiān， jiān bìng zhe jiān， mò mò dì chī cǎo。
zhè liǎng pǐ mǎ gāng tǎng xià， yī qún shī qù liǎo mā mā de xiǎo yā zǐ pái chéng yī liù jìn liǎo dà gǔ cāng， zī zī zhā zhā， dōng zhāng xī wàng， xiǎng zhǎo yī chù bù huì bèi cǎi shàng de dì fāng。 kè lā fú yòng tā cū zhuàng de qián tuǐ xiàng qiáng yī yàng dì wéi zhù tā men， xiǎo yā zǐ wēi yǐ zài lǐ miàn， hěn kuài jiù rù shuì liǎo。 mò lì lái dé hěn wǎn， zhè gè yú chǔn de jiā huǒ， cháng zhe yī shēn bái shēng shēng de máo， shì yī pǐ tào qióng sī xiān shēng zuò chē de mǔ mǎ。 tā niǔ niǔ niē niē dì zǒu jìn lái， yī diān yī diān dì， zuǐ lǐ hái jiáo zhe yī kuài táng。 tā zhàn liǎo gè kào qián de wèi zhì， jiù kāi shǐ dǒu dòng qǐ tā de bái zōng máo， shì tú xuàn yào yī fān nà xiē zhā zài zōng máo shàng de hóng shì dài。 māo shì zuì hòu yī gè lái de， tā xiàng wǎng cháng yī yàng， dào chù xún zhǎo zuì rè hū de dì fāng， zuì hòu zài bào kè sè hé kè lā fú dāng zhōng jǐ liǎo jìn qù。 zài mài zhé jiǎng yǎn shí， tā zài nà 'ér zì shǐ zhì zhōng dū dé yì dì fā chū“ gū gū lū lū” de shēng yīn， yā gēn 'ér méi tīng jìn mài zhé jiǎng de yī gè zì。
nà zhǐ xùn shùn liǎo de wū yā mó xī shuì zài zhuāng zhù yuàn hòu mén bèi hòu de jià zǐ shàng， chú tā zhī wài， suǒ yòu de dòng wù dōuyǐ dào chǎng， kàn dào tā mendōu zuò wěn liǎo， bìng jù jīng huì shén dì děng dài zhe， mài zhé qīng liǎo qīng hóu lóng， kāi kǒu shuō dào：
“ tóng zhì men， wǒ zuó wǎn zuò liǎo yī gè qí guài de mèng， zhè gè nǐ mendōu yǐ jīng tīng shuō liǎo， dàn wǒ xiǎng děng yī huì zài tí tā。 wǒ xiǎng xiān shuō diǎn bié de shì。 tóng zhì men， wǒ xiǎng wǒ hé nǐ men zài yī qǐ dāi bù liǎo duō jiǔ liǎo。 zài wǒ lín sǐ zhī qián， wǒ jué dé yòu zé rèn bǎ wǒ yǐ jīng huò dé de zhì huì chuán shòu gěi nǐ men。 wǒ huó liǎo yī bèi zǐ， dāng wǒ dú zì tǎng zài juàn zhōng shí， wǒ zǒng zài sī suǒ， wǒ xiǎng wǒ gǎn shuō， rú tóng rèn hé yī gè jiàn zài de dòng wù yī yàng， wǒ wù chū liǎo yī gè dào lǐ， nà jiù shì huó zài shì shàng shì zěn me huí shì。 zhè jiù shì wǒ yào gěi nǐ men jiǎng de wèn tí。
“ nà me， tóng zhì men， wǒ men yòu shì zěn me shēng huó de ní？ ràng wǒ men lái kàn yī kàn bā： wǒ men de yī shēng shì duǎn zàn de， què shì qī cǎn 'ér jiān xīn。 yī shēng xià lái， wǒ men dé dào de shí wù bù guò jǐn jǐn shǐ wǒ men gǒu yán cán chuǎn 'ér yǐ， dàn shì， zhǐ yào wǒ men hái néng dòng yī xià， wǒ men biàn huì bèi qū gǎn zhe qù gān huó， zhí dào yòng jìn zuì hòu yī sī lì qì， yī dàn wǒ men de yóu shuǐ bèi zhà gān， wǒ men jiù huì zài nán yǐ zhì xìn de cán rěn xià bèi zǎi shā。 zài yīng gé lán de dòng wù zhōng， méi yòu yī gè dòng wù zài yī suì zhī hòu dǒng dé shénme shì xìng fú huò kòngxián de hán yì。 méi yòu yī gè shì zì yóu de。 xiǎn 'ér yì jiàn， dòng wù de yī shēng shì tòng kǔ de、 bèi shòu nú yì de yī shēng。
“ dàn shì， zhè zhēn de shì mìng zhōng zhù dìng de má？ nà xiē shēngzhǎng zài zhè lǐ de dòng wù zhī suǒ yǐ bù néng guò shàng shū shì de shēng huó， nán dào shì yīn wéi wǒ men zhè kuài tǔ dì tài pín jí liǎo má？ bù！ tóng zhì men！ yī qiān gè bù！ yīng gé lán tǔ dì féi wò， qì hòu shì yí， tā kě yǐ tí gōng fēng fù de shí wù， kě yǐ yǎng huó wéi shù bǐ xiàn zài duō dé duō de dòng wù。 ná wǒ men zhè yī gè zhuāng yuán lái shuō， jiù zú yǐ yǎng huó shí 'èr pǐ mǎ、 èr shí tóu niú hé shù bǎi zhǐ yáng， ér qiě wǒ men shèn zhì wú fǎ xiǎng xiàng， tā men huì guò dé duō me shū shì， huó dé duō me tǐ miàn。 nà me， wèishénme wǒ men de bēi cǎn jìng kuàng méi yòu dé dào gǎi biàn ní？ zhè shì yīn wéi， jīhū wǒ men de quán bù láo dòng suǒ dé dōubèi rén lèi qiè qǔ zǒu liǎo。 tóng zhì men， yòu yī gè dá 'àn kě yǐ jiě dá wǒ men de suǒ yǐ wèn tí， wǒ kě yǐ bǎ tā zǒng jié wéi yī gè zì héng héng rén， rén jiù shì wǒ men wéi yī zhēn zhèng de chóu dí。 bǎ rén cóng wǒ men de shēng huó zhōng xiāo chú diào， jī 'è yǔ guò dù láolèi de gēn zǐ jiù huì yǒng yuǎn bá diào。
“ rén shì yī zhǒng zuì kě lián de jiā huǒ， shénme dū chǎn bù liǎo， zhǐ huì huī huò。 nà xiē jiā huǒ chǎn bù liǎo nǎi， yě xià bù liǎo dàn， shòu ruò dé lā bù dòng lí， páo qǐ lái yě shì màn tūn tūn de， lián gè tù zǐ dū dài bù zhù。 kě nà jiā huǒ què shì suǒ yòu dòng wù de zhù zǎi， tā qū shǐ tā men qù gān huó， gěi tā men bào cháng què zhǐ shì yī diǎn shǎo dé bù néng zài shǎo de cǎo liào， jǐn gòu tā men hú kǒu 'ér yǐ。 ér tā men láo dòng suǒ dé de qí yú de yī qiē zé dōubèi tā jù wéi jǐ yòu。 shì wǒ men liúxiě liú hàn zài gēng yún zhè kuài tǔ dì， shì wǒ men de fèn biàn shǐ tā féi wò， kě wǒ men zì jǐ chú liǎo zhè yī fù kōng pí náng zhī wài， yòu dé dào liǎo shénme ní！ nǐ men zhè xiē zuò zài wǒ miàn qián de niú， qù nián yī nián lǐ， nǐ men yǐ chǎn guò duō shǎo jiā lún de nǎi ní！ nà xiē běn lái kě yǐ wèi yǎng chū xǔ duō qiáng zhuàng de niú dú de nǎi yòu dào nǎ 'ér qù liǎo ní？ měi yī dī dū liú jìn liǎo wǒ men chóu dí de hóu lóng lǐ。 hái yòu nǐ men zhè xiē jī、 zhè yī nián lǐ nǐ men yǐ xià liǎo duō shǎo zhǐ dàn ní？ kě yòu yòu duō shǎo fū chéng liǎo xiǎo jī？ nà xiē méi yòu fū huà de jī dàn dōubèi ná dào shì chǎng shàng wéi qióng sī hé tā de huǒ jì men huàn chéng liǎo chāo piào！ nǐ ní， kè lā fú， nǐ de sì pǐ xiǎo mǎ jū dào nǎ 'ér qù liǎo？ tā men běn lái shì nǐ wǎn nián de 'ān wèi hé jì tuō！ ér tā men què dōuzài yī suì shí gěi mài diào liǎo， nǐ yǒng yuǎn yě wú fǎ zài jiàn dào tā men liǎo。 bǔ cháng gěi nǐ zhè sì cì zuò yuè zǐ hé zài dì lǐ láo zuò de， chú liǎo nà diǎn kě lián de sì liào hé yī jiān mǎ jiù wài， hái yòu shénme ní？
“ jiù shì guò zhe zhè yàng bēi cǎn de shēng huó， wǒ men yě bù néng bèi yǔn xǔ xiǎng jìn tiān nián。 ná wǒ zì jǐ lái shuō， wǒ wú kě bào yuàn， yīn wéi wǒ suàn shì xìng yùn de。 wǒ shí 'èr suì liǎo， yǐ yòu sì bǎi duō gè hái zǐ， zhè duì yī gè zhū lái shuō jiù shì yīngyǒu de shēng huó liǎo。 dàn shì， dào tóu lái méi yòu yī gè dòng wù néng táo guò nà cán rěn de yī dāo。 nǐ men zhè xiē zuò zài wǒ miàn qián de xiǎo ròu zhū men， bù chū yī nián， nǐ men dū jiāng zài dāo jià shàng háo jiào zhe duàn sòng xìng mìng。 zhè kǒng bù jiù shì wǒ men héng héng niú、 zhū、 jī、 yáng děng děng měi yī wèi dū nán táo de jié jú。 jiù shì mǎ hé gǒu de mìng yùn yě hǎo bù liǎo duō shǎo。 nǐ， bào kè sè， yòu cháo yī rì nǐ nà qiáng jiàn de jī ròu shī qù liǎo lì qì， qióng sī jiù huì bǎ nǐ mài gěi tú mǎ shāng， tú mǎ shāng huì gē duàn nǐ de hóu lóng， bǎ nǐ zhǔ liǎo gěi liè gǒu chī。 ér gǒu ní， děng tā men lǎo liǎo， yá yě diào guāng liǎo， qióng sī jiù huì jiù jìn zhǎo gè chí táng， nòng kuài zhuān tóu shuān zài tā men de bó zǐ shàng， bǎ tā men chén dào shuǐ dǐ。
“ nà me， tóng zhì men， wǒ men zhè zhǒng shēng huó de huò gēn lái zì bào nüè de rén lèi， zhè yī diǎn nán dào bù shì yī qīng 'èr chǔ de má？ zhǐ yào qū chú liǎo rén， wǒ men de láo dòng suǒ dé jiù huì quán guī wǒ men zì jǐ， ér qiě jīhū zài yī yè zhī jiān， wǒ men jiù huì biàn dé fù yù 'ér zì yóu。 nà me wǒ men yīnggāi wèicǐ zuò xiē shénme ní？ háo wú yí wèn， fèn dǒu！ wèile xiāo chú rén lèi， quán lì yǐ fù， bù fēn zhòu yè dì fèn dǒu！ tóng zhì men， wǒ yào gào sù nǐ men de jiù shì zhè gè： zào fǎn！ lǎo shí shuō， wǒ yě bù zhī dào zào fǎn huì zài hé shí fā shēng， huò xǔ jìn zài yī zhōu zhī nèi， huò xǔ yuǎn zài bǎi nián zhī hòu。 dàn wǒ què xìn， jiù xiàng kàn dào wǒ tí zǐ dǐ xià de dào cǎo yī yàng què záo wú yí， zǒng yòu yī tiān， zhèng yì yào shēn zhāng。 tóng zhì men， zài nǐ men zhěng gè duǎn zàn de yú shēng zhōng， bù yào piān lí zhè gè mù biāo！ yóu qí shì， bǎ wǒ shuō de fú yīn chuán gěi nǐ men de hòu dài， zhè yàng， wèi lái de yī dài yī dài dòng wù jiù huì jì xù zhè yī dǒu zhēng， zhí dào qǔ dé zuì hòu shèng lì。
“ jì zhù， tóng zhì men， nǐ men de shì yuàn jué bù kě dòng yáo， nǐ men jué bù yào ràng rèn hé tián yán mì yǔ bǎ nǐ men yǐn rù qí tú。 dāng tā men gào sù nǐ men shénme rén yǔ dòng wù yòu zhe gòng tóng lì yì， shénme yī fāng de xīng shuāi jiù shì lìng yī fāng de xīng shuāi， qiān wàn bù yào tīng xìn nà zhǒng huà， nà quán shì chè tóu chè wěi de huǎng yán。 rén xīn lǐ xiǎng de shì qíng zhǐ yòu tā zì jǐ de lì yì， cǐ wài bié wú tā yòu。 ràng wǒ men zài dǒu zhēng zhōng xié diào yī zhì， qíng tóng shǒu zú。 suǒ yǐ de réndōu shì chóu dí， suǒ yòu de dòng wù dōushì tóng zhì”。
jiù zài zhè shí kè， xiǎng qǐ liǎo yī zhèn cì 'ěr de cáo zá shēng。 yuán lái， zài mài zhé jiǎng huà shí， yòu sì zhǐ gè tóu tǐng dà de hào zǐ pá chū dòng kǒu， dūn zuò zài hòu tuǐ shàng tīng tā yǎn jiǎng， tū rán jiān bèi gǒu qiáo jiàn， xìng kuī tā men xùn sù cuàn huí dòng nèi， cái miǎn zāo yī sǐ。 mài zhé tái qǐ qián tí， píng jìng liǎo yī xià qì fēn：
“ tóng zhì men”， tā shuō，“ zhè lǐ yòu yī diǎn bì xū chéng qīng。 yě shēng de shēng líng， bǐ rú hào zǐ hé tù zǐ， shì wǒ men de qīn yǒu ní hái shì chóu dí？ ràng wǒ men biǎo jué yī xià bā， wǒ xiàng huì yì tí chū zhè gè yì tí： hào zǐ shì tóng zhì má？”
biǎo jué lì jí jìn xíng， yā dǎo duō shù de dòng wù tóng yì hào zǐ shì tóng zhì。 yòu sì gè tóu liǎo fǎn duì piào， shì sān tiáo gǒu hé yī zhǐ māo。 hòu lái cái fā xiàn tā men qí shí tóu liǎo liǎng cì piào， bāo kuò fǎn duì piào hé zàn chéng piào。 mài zhé jì xù shuō dào：
“ wǒ hái yòu yī diǎn yào bǔ chōng。 wǒ zhǐ shì chóngshēn yī xià， yǒng yuǎn jì zhù nǐ men de zé rèn shì yǔ rén lèi jí qí xí guàn shì bù liǎng lì。 suǒ yòu kào liǎng tiáo tuǐ xíng zǒu dedōu shì chóu dí， suǒ yòu kào sì zhī xíng zǒu de， huò zhě yòu chì bǎng de， dōushì qīn yǒu。 hái yòu jì zhù： zài tóng rén lèi zuò dǒu zhēng de guò chéng zhōng， wǒ men jiù bù yào mó fǎng tā men。 jí shǐ zhēng fú liǎo tā men， yě jué bù yán yòng tā men de 'è xí。 shì dòng wù jiù jué bù zhù zài fáng wū lǐ， jué bù shuì zài chuáng shàng， jué bù chuān yī、 hē jiǔ、 chōu yān， jué bù jiē chù chāo piào， cóng shì jiāo yì。 fán shì rén de xí guàn dōushì de。 ér qiě， qiān wàn yào zhù yì， rèn hé dòng wù dōubù néng qī yā zì jǐ de tóng lèi。 bù lùn shì shòu ruò de hái shì qiáng zhuàng de； bù lùn shì cōng míng de hái shì chí dùn de， wǒ mendōu shì xiōng dì。 rèn hé dòng wù dōubù dé shāng hài qí tā dòng wù。 suǒ yòu de dòng wù yī lǜ píng děng。
“ xiàn zài， tóng zhì men， wǒ lái tán tán guān yú zuó wǎn nà gè mèng de shì。 nà shì yī gè zài xiāo miè liǎo rén lèi zhī hòu de wèi lái shì jiè de mèng xiǎng， wǒ wú fǎ bǎ tā miáo shù chū lái。 dàn tā tí xǐng liǎo wǒ yī xiē zǎo yǐ wàng què de shì qíng。 hěn duō nián yǐ qián， dāng wǒ hái shì tóu xiǎo zhū shí， wǒ mǔ qīn hé qí tā mǔ zhū jīng cháng chàng yī zhǐ gǔ lǎo de gē， nà zhī gē， lián tā men yě zhǐ jì dé gè qǔdiào hé tóu sān jù gē cí。 wǒ hěn xiǎo de shí hòu jiù duì nà qū diào shú xī liǎo。 dàn wǒ yě wàng liǎo hěn jiǔ liǎo。 rán 'ér zuó tiān wǎn shàng， wǒ yòu zài mèng zhōng huí xiǎng qǐ lái liǎo， gèng miào de shì， gē cí yě zài mèng zhōng chū xiàn， zhè gē cí， wǒ gǎn kěn dìng， jiù shì hěn jiǔ yǐ qián de dòng wù chàng de、 bìng qiě shī chuán hěn duō dài de nà shǒu gē cí。 xiàn zài wǒ jiù xiǎng chàng gěi nǐ men tīng tīng， tóng zhì men， wǒ lǎo liǎo， sǎng yīn yě shā yǎ liǎo， dàn děng wǒ bǎ nǐ men jiào huì liǎo， nǐ men huì chàng dé gèng hǎo de。 tā jiào ‘ yīng gé lán shòu ’。”
lǎo mài zhé qīng liǎo qīng sǎng zǐ jiù kāi shǐ chàng liǎo qǐ lái， zhèng rú tā shuō de nà yàng， tā shēng yīn shā yǎ， dàn chàng dé hěn bù cuò。 nà shǒu gēqǔ diào kāng kǎi jī 'áng， xuán lǜ yòu diǎn jiè yú“ Clementine” hé“ LaCucuracha” zhī jiān。 gē cí shì zhè yàng de：
yīng gé lán shòu， ài 'ěr lán shòu，
pǔ tiān zhī xià de shòu，
qīng tīng wǒ xǐ yuè de jiā yīn，
qīng tīng nà jīn sè de wèi lái。
nà yī tiān chí zǎo yào dào lái，
bào nüè de rén lèi zhōng jiāng xiāo miè，
fù ráo de yīng gé lán dà dì，
jiāng zhǐ liú xià wǒ men de zú jì。
wǒ men de bí zhōng bù zài kòu huán，
wǒ men de bèi shàng bù zài pèi 'ān，
jué zǐ、 mǎ cì huì yǒng yuǎn xiù shí
bù zài yòu cán kù de biān zǐ pī pā chōu shǎn。
nà nán yǐ xiǎng xiàng de fù yù shēng huó，
xiǎo mài、 dà mài、 gān cǎo、 yàn mài
mù sù、 dà dòu hái yòu tián cài，
nà yī tiān jiāng quán guī wǒ chái。
nà yī tiān wǒ men jiāng zì yóu jiě fàng，
yáng guāng pǔ zhào yīng gé lán dà dì，
shuǐ huì gèng chún jìng，
fēng yě gèng róu yì。
nǎ pà wǒ men huó bù dào nà yī tiān，
dàn wèile nà yī tiān wǒ men qǐ néng děng xián，
niú、 mǎ、 é、 jī
wéi zì yóu wù xū liú xuè hàn。
yīng gé lán shòu、 ài 'ěr lán shòu，
pǔ tiān zhī xià de shòu，
qīng tīng wǒ xǐ yuè de jiā yīn，
qīng tīng nà jīn sè de wèi lái。
chàng zhe zhè zhī gē， dòng wù men xiàn rù liǎo qíng bù zì jìn de kàng fèn zhī zhōng。 jīhū hái méi yòu děng mài zhé chàng wán， tā men yǐ jīng kāi shǐ zì jǐ chàng liǎo。 lián zuì chí dùn de dòng wù yě yǐ jīng xué huì liǎo qū diào hé gè bié gē cí liǎo。 cōng míng yī xiē de， rú zhū hé gǒu， jǐ fēn zhōng nèi jiù quán bù jì zhù liǎo zhěng shǒu gē。 rán hòu， tā men shāo jiā jǐ cì cháng shì， jiù tū rán jiān qí shēng hé chàng qǐ lái， zhěng gè zhuāng yuán dùn shí huí dàng zhe zhè zhèn tiān dòng dì de gē shēng。 niú mōu mōu dì jiào， gǒu wāng wāng dì fèi， yáng miē miē dì hǎn， mǎ sī sī dì míng， yā zǐ gā gā dì huàn。 chàng zhe zhè shǒu gē， tā men shì duō me dì xīng fèn， yǐ zhì yú zhěng zhěng lián zhe chàng liǎo wǔ biàn， yào bù shì zhōng tú bèi dǎ duàn， tā men zhēn yòu kě néng chàng gè tōng xiāo。
bù qiǎo， xuān 'áo shēng chǎo xǐng liǎo qióng sī xiān shēng， tā zì yǐ wéi shì yuàn zǐ zhōng lái liǎo hú lí， biàn tiào xià chuáng， cāo qǐ nà zhī zǒng shì fàng zài wò shì qiáng jiǎo de liè qiāng， yòng zhuāng zài táng lǐ de liù hào zǐ dàn duì zhe hēi 'àn chù kāi liǎo yī qiāng， dàn lì shè jìn dà gǔ cāng de qiáng lǐ。 huì yì jiù cǐ cōng cōng jiě sàn。 dòng wù men fēn fēn liù huí zì jǐ de wō péng。 jiā qín tiào shàng liǎo tā men de jià zǐ， jiā chù wò dào liǎo cǎo duī lǐ， qǐng kè zhī jiān， zhuāng yuán biàn chén jì xià lái。
As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had 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, though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say.
At one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. He was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he was still a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance in spite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, came in together, walking very slowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there should be some small animal concealed in the straw. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work. After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark-for instance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no 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 them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.
The two horses had just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had lost their mother, filed into the barn, cheeping feebly and wandering from side to side to find some place where they would not be trodden on. Clover made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklings nestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar. She took a place near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with. Last of all came the cat, who looked round, as usual, for the warmest place, and finally squeezed herself in between Boxer and Clover; there she purred contentedly throughout Major's speech without listening to a word of what he was saying.
All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began:
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.
"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.
"But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The soil of England is fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep-and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.
"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, 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. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old-you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?
"And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come-cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.
"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. A1most overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious.
"And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades."
At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four large rats had crept out of their holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence.
"Comrades," he said, "here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits-are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?"
The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides. Major continued:
"I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.
"And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot describe that dream to you. It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only the tune and the first three words. I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind. Last night, however, it came back to me in my dream. And what is more, the words of the song also came back-words, I am certain, which were sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called Beasts of England."
Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice was hoarse, but he sang well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. The words ran:
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings
Of the golden future time.
Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone.
Rings shall vanish from our noses,
And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.
Riches more than mind can picture,
Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels
Shall be ours upon that day.
Bright will shine the fields of England,
Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes
On the day that sets us free.
For that day we all must labour,
Though we die before it break;
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom's sake.
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken well and spread my tidings
Of the golden future time.
The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almost before Major had reached the end, they had begun singing it for themselves. Even the stupidest of them had already picked up the tune and a few of the words, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs, they had the entire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into Beasts of England in tremendous unison. The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession, and might have continued singing it all night if they had not been interrupted.
Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr. Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a fox in the yard. He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly. Everyone fled to his own sleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment.
sān tiān zhī hòu， lǎo mài zhé zài 'ān shuì zhōng píng jìng dì sǐ qù。 yí tǐ mái zài píng guǒ yuán jiǎo xià。
zhè shì sān yuè chū de shì。
cóng cǐ yǐ hòu de sān gè yuè lǐ， yòu hěn duō mì mì huó dòng。 mài zhé de yǎn jiǎng gěi zhuāng yuán lǐ nà xiē bǐ jiào cōng míng de dòng wù dài lái liǎo yī gè quán xīn de shēng huó guān niàn。 tā men bù zhī dào mài zhé yù yán de zào fǎn shénme shí hòu cái néng fā shēng， tā men yě wú fǎ xiǎng xiàng zào fǎn huì zài tā men yòu shēng zhī nián nèi dào lái。 dàn tā men qīng chǔ dì xiǎo dé， wèicǐ zuò zhǔn bèi jiù shì tā men de zé rèn。 xùn dǎo hé zǔ zhì qí tā dòng wù de gōng zuò， zì rán dì luò zài zhū de shēn shàng， tā men bèi yī zhì rèn wéi shì dòng wù zhōng zuì cōng míng de。 ér qí zhōng zuì jié chū de shì liǎng tóu míng jiào bào hé ná pò lún de xióng zhū， tā men shì qióng sī xiān shēng wéi chū shòu wèi yǎng de。 ná pò lún shì tóu bó kè xià xióng zhū， yě shì zhuāng yuán zhōng wéi yī de bó kè xià zhǒng， gè tóu tǐng dà， kàn qǐ lái hěn xiōng， shuō huà bù duō， sù yǐ gù zhí 'ér chū míng。 xiāng bǐ zhī xià， bào yào líng lì duō liǎo， kǒu cái hǎo， yě gèng yòu dú chuàng xìng， dàn kàn qǐ lái gè xìng shàng méi yòu ná pò lún nà me shēn chén。 zhuāng yuán lǐ qí tā de zhū dū shì ròu zhū。 tā men zhōng zuì chū míng de shì yī tóu duǎn xiǎo 'ér féi pàng de zhū， míng jiào sī kuí lā。 tā cháng zhe yuán yuán de miàn jiá， jiǒng jiǒng shǎn shuò de yǎn jīng， dòng zuò mǐn jié， shēng yīn jiān xì， shì gè bù kě duō dé de yǎn shuō jiā。 yóu qí shì zài chǎn shù mǒu xiē jiān shēn de lùn diǎn shí， tā xí guàn yú biān jiǎng jiě biān lái huí bù tíng dì bèng tiào， tóng shí hái shuǎi dòng zhe wěi bā。 ér nà wán yì 'ér bù zhī zěn me gǎo dì jiù shì fù yòu gǔ huò lì。 bié de dòng wù tí dào sī kuí lā shí， dōushuō tā néng bǎ hēi de shuō chéng bái de。
zhè sān tóu zhū bǎ lǎo mài zhé de xùn dǎo yòng xīn zhuó mó， tuī qiāo chū yī tào wán zhěng de sī xiǎng tǐ xì， tā men chēng zhī wéi“ dòng wù zhù yì”。 měi zhōu zǒng yòu jǐ gè yè wǎn， děng qióng sī xiān shēng rù shuì hòu， tā men jiù zài dà hù cāng lǐ zhào jí mì mì huì yì， xiàng qí tā dòng wù xiáng xì chǎn shù dòng wù zhù yì de yào zhǐ。 qǐ chū， tā men zhēn duì de shì nà xiē chí dùn hé má mù de dòng wù。 zhè xiē dòng wù zhōng， yòu yī xiē hái dà tán shénme duì qióng sī xiān shēng de zhōng chéng de yì wù， bǎ tā shì wéi“ zhù rén”， tí chū hěn duō qiǎn bó de kàn fǎ， bǐ rú“ qióng sī xiān shēng wèi yǎng wǒ men， rú guǒ tā zǒu liǎo， wǒ men huì 'è sǐ de”。 děng děng。 hái yòu de wèn dào zhè yàng de wèn tí：“ wǒ men gān má yào guān xīn wǒ men sǐ hòu cái néng fā shēng de shì qíng？” huò zhě wèn：“ rú guǒ zào fǎn zhù dìng yào fā shēng， wǒ men gànbù gān yòu yòu shénme guān xì？” yīn 'ér， wéi liǎo jiào tā men dǒng dé zhè xiē shuō fǎ dōushì yǔ dòng wù zhù yì xiāng bèi lí de， zhū jiù xià liǎo hěn dà de gōng fū。 zhè yú chǔn de wèn tí shì nà pǐ bái cí mǎ mò lì tí chū lái de， tā xiàng bào zuì xiān wèn de wèn tí shì：“ zào fǎn yǐ hòu hái yòu táng má？”
“ méi yòu”， bào jiān dìng dì shuō，“ wǒ men méi yòu bàn fǎ zài zhuāng yuán zhì táng， zài shuō， nǐ bù xū yào táng， ér nǐ xiǎng yào de yàn mài hé cǎo liào nǐ dū huì yòu de”。
“ nà wǒ hái néng zài zōng máo shàng zhā shì dài má？” mò lì wèn。
“ tóng zhì”， bào shuō，“ nà xiē nǐ rú cǐ zhōng 'ài de shì dài quán shì nú lì de biāo jì。 nǐ nán dào bù míng bái zì yóu bǐ shì dài gèng yòu jià zhí má？”
mò lì tóng yì liǎo， dàn tīng qǐ lái bìng bù shí fēn kěn dìng。
zhū miàn duì de gèng kùn nán de shì qíng， shì duì fù nà zhǐ xùn shùn liǎo de wū yā mó xī sàn bù de huǎng yán。 mó xī zhè gè qióng sī xiān shēng de tè shū chǒng wù， shì gè jiān xì hé ráo shé de jiā huǒ， hái shì gè líng qiǎo de shuìkè。 tā shēng chēng tā zhī dào yòu yī gè jiào zuò“ mì táng shān” de shén mì guó dù， nà lǐ shì suǒ yòu dòng wù sǐ hòu de guī sù。 tā jiù zài tiān kōng zhōng yún céng shàng miàn de bù yuǎn chù。 mó xī shuō， zài mì táng shān， měi zhōu qī tiān， tiān tiān dōushì xīng qī tiān， yī nián sì jì dōuyòu mù xu， zài nà lǐ， fāng táng hé yà má zǐ bǐng jiù cháng zài shù lí shàng。 dòng wù men zēng 'è mó xī， yīn wéi tā guāng shuō xián huà 'ér bù gànhuó， dàn dòng wù zhōng yě yòu xiāng xìn mì táng shān de。 suǒ yǐ， zhū bù dé bù jié lì zhēng biàn， jiào dòng wù men xiāng xìn gēn běn jiù bù cún zài nà me yī gè dì fāng。
tā men zuì zhōng shí de zhuī suí zhě shì nà liǎng pǐ tào huò chē de mǎ， bào kè sè hé kè lā fú。 duì tā men liǎ lái shuō， kào zì jǐ xiǎng tōng rèn hé wèn tí dōuhěn kùn nán。 ér yī dàn bǎ zhū rèn zuò tā men de dǎo shī， tā men biàn xī qǔ liǎo zhū jiāogěi tā men de yī qiē dōng xī， hái tōng guò yī xiē jiǎn dān de tǎo lùn bǎ zhè xiē dào lǐ chuán shòu gěi qí tā de dòng wù。 dà gǔ cāng zhōng de mì mì huì yì， tā men yě cóng bù quē xí。 měi dāng huì yì jié shù yào chàng nà shǒu“ yīng gé lán shòu” shí， yě yóu tā men dài tóu chàng qǐ。
zhè yī zhèn zǐ， jiù jiēguǒ 'ér yán， zào fǎn zhī shì bǐ rèn hé yī gè dòng wù suǒ yù qī dedōu yào lái dé gèng zǎo yě gèng shùn lì。 zài guò qù shù nián jiān， qióng sī xiān shēng jìn guǎn shì gè lěng kù de zhù rén， dàn bù shī wéi yī wèi néng gān de zhuāng yuán zhù， kě shì jìn lái， tā zhèng chù yú bèi yùn de shí hòu， dǎ guān sī zhōng péi liǎo qián， tā gèng jù sàng chén lún， yú shì pīn mìng dì hē jiǔ。 yòu yī zhèn zǐ， tā zhěng rì dāi zài chú fáng lǐ， lǎn yáng yáng dì zuò zài tā de wēn suō yǐ shàng， fān kàn zhe bào zhǐ， hē zhe jiǔ， ǒu 'ěr bǎ gān miàn bāo piàn zài pí jiǔ lǐ zhān yī xià wèi gěi mó xī。 tā de huǒ jì men yě wú suǒ shì shì， zhè bù shǒu zhí。 tián dì lǐ cháng mǎn liǎo yě cǎo， wō péng dǐng péng yě lòu liǎo， shù lí wú rén zhào guǎn， dòng wù men jī cháng lù lù。
liù yuè， yǎn kàn dào liǎo shōu gē mù cǎo de shí jié。 zài shī xǐ yuē hàn jié de qián xī， nà yī tiān shì xīng qī liù， qióng sī xiān shēng qù liǎo wēi líng dùn， zài léi dé lán hē liǎo gè làn zuì， zhí dào dì 'èr tiān， yě jiù shì xīng qī tiān de zhèng wǔ shí fēn cái gǎn huí lái。 tā de huǒ jì men yī dà zǎo jǐ wán niú nǎi， jiù páo chū qù dǎ tù zǐ liǎo， méi yòu cāo xīn gěi dòng wù tiān jiā cǎo liào。 ér qióng sī xiān shēng yī huí lái， jiù zài kè tīng lǐ ná liǎo yī zhāng《 shì jiè xīn wén》 bào gài zài liǎn shàng， zài shā fā shàng shuì zhe liǎo。 suǒ yǐ yī zhí dào wǎn shàng， dòng wù men hái méi yòu gěi wèi guò。 tā men zhōng yú rěn shòu bù zhù liǎo， yòu yī tóu mǔ niú yòng jiǎo zhuàng kāi liǎo zhù cáng péng de mén， yú shì， suǒ yòu de dòng wù yī yōng 'ér shàng， zì gù zì dì cóng sì liào xiāng lǐ qiǎng dōng xī。 jiù zài cǐ kè， qióng sī xiān shēng xǐng liǎo。 bù yī huì 'ér， tā hé tā de sì gè huǒ jì shǒu lǐ ná zhe biān zǐ chū xiàn zài zhù cáng péng， shàng lái jiù sì chù luàn dǎ yī qì。 jī 'è de dòng wù nǎ lǐ hái shòu dào liǎo zhè gè， jìn guǎn háo wú rèn hé yù móu， dàn dōubù yuē 'ér tóng dì， měng dì pū xiàng zhè xiē zhé mó tā men de zhù rén。 qióng sī xiān shēng yī huǒ hū rán fā xiàn tā men zì jǐ zhèng chù zài sì miàn bèi wéi zhī zhōng。 bèi jī jiǎo dǐ， bèi tí zǐ tī， xíng shì wán quán shī qù liǎo kòng zhì。 tā men cóng qián hái méi yòu jiàn dào dòng wù zhè yàng de jǔ dòng， tā men céng jīng shì zěn yàng suí xīn suǒ yù de biān chī hé zhè yī qún chù shēng！ ér zhè qún chù shēng men de tū rán xià dé tā men jīhū bù zhī suǒ cuò。 zhuǎn yǎn gōng fū， tā men fàng qì zì wèi， bá tuǐ biàn táo。 yòu guò liǎo gè bǎ fēn zhōng， zài dòng wù men shì rú pò zhú de zhuī gǎn xià， tā men wǔ gè rén yán zhe tōng wǎng dà lù de chē dào cāng huáng bài táo。
qióng sī fū rén zài wò shì zhōng kàn dào chuāng wài fā shēng de yī qiē， cōng máng chāi xiē xì ruǎn sài jìn yī gè máo zhān shǒu tí bāo lǐ， cóng lìng yī tiáo lù shàng liù chū liǎo zhuāng yuán。 mó xī cóng tā de jià zǐ shàng tiào qǐ lái， pū pū téng téng dì wěi suí zhe qióng sī fū rén， gū gū dì dà shēng jiào zhe。 zhè shí， dòng wù men yǐ jīng bǎ qióng sī yī huǒ gǎn dào wài miàn de dà lù shàng， rán hòu pēng dì yī shēng guān shàng wǔ shān mén。 jiù zhè yàng， zài tā men jīhū hái méi yòu fǎn yìng guò lái shí， zào fǎn yǐ jīng wán quán chéng gōng liǎo： qióng sī bèi qū zhú liǎo， màn nà zhuāng yuán chéng liǎo tā men zì jǐ de。
qǐ chū， yòu hǎo dà yī huì， dòng wù men jiǎn zhí bù gǎn xiāng xìn tā men de hǎo yùn qì。 tā men zuò de dì yī jiàn shì jiù shì yán zhe zhuāng yuán bēn chí zhe rào liǎo yī juàn， fǎng fó shì yào chè dǐ zhèng shí yī xià zài yě méi yòu rén cáng zài zhuāng yuán lǐ liǎo。 jiē zhe， yòu bēn huí wō péng zhōng， bǎ nà xiē shǔ yú kě zēng de qióng sī tǒng zhì de zuì hòu yìn jì xiāo chú diào。 mǎ jiù duān tóu de nóng jù péng bèi zá kāi liǎo， juézǐ、 bí huán、 gǒu yòng de xiàng juàn， yǐ jí qióng sī xiān shēng guò qù cháng wéi yān zhū、 yān yáng yòng de cán kù de dāo zǐ， tǒng tǒng gěi diū jìn jǐng lǐ。 jiāng shéng、 lóng tóu、 yǎn zhào hé kě chǐ de guà zài mǎ bó zǐ shàng de cǎo liào dài， quándōu yǔ lā jī yī qǐ duī dào yuàn zhōng， yī bǎ huǒ shāo liǎo。 biān zǐ gèng bù lì wài。 dòng wù men yǎn kàn zhe biān zǐ zài huǒ yàn zhōng shāo qǐ， tā men quándōu xīng gāo cǎi liè de huān hū què yuè qǐ lái。 bào hái bǎ shì dài yě rēng jìn huǒ lǐ， nà xiē shì dài shì guò qù cháng zài gǎn jí shí zhā zài mǎ zōng hé mǎyǐ shàng yòng de。
“ shì dài”， tā shuō dào，“ yīnggāi shì tóng yī fú， zhè shì rén lèi de biāo jì。 suǒ yòu de dòng wù dū yìng gāi yī sī bù guà”。
bào kè sè tīng dào zhè lǐ， biàn bǎ tā xià tiān dài de yī dǐng xiǎo cǎo mào yě ná chū lái， zhè dǐng cǎo mào běn lái shì fáng zhǐ yíng chóng zuānrù 'ěr duǒ cái dài de， tā yě bǎ tā hé bié de dōng xī yī dào rēng jìn liǎo rén huǒ zhōng。
bù dà yī huì 'ér， dòng wù men biàn bǎ suǒ yòu néng yǐn qǐ tā men lián xiǎng dào qióng sī xiān shēng de dōng xī quán huǐ wán liǎo。 rán hòu， ná pò lún shuài lǐng tā men huí dào zhù cáng péng lǐ， gěi tā men fēn fā liǎo shuāng fèn yù mǐ， gěi gǒu fā liǎo shuāng fèn bǐng gān。 jiē zhe， tā men cóng tóu zhì wěi bǎ“ yīng gé lán shòu” chàng liǎo qī biàn。 rán hòu 'ān dùn xià lái， ér qiě měi měi shuì liǎo yī yè， hǎo xiàng tā men hái cóng lái méi yòu shuì guò jué shìde。
dàn tā men hái shì zhào cháng zài lí míng shí xǐng lái， zhuǎn niàn xiǎng qǐ yǐ jīng fā shēng liǎo nà me liǎo bù qǐ de shì qíng， tā men quándōu páo chū lái， yī qǐ chōng xiàng dà mù chǎng。 tōng xiàng mù chǎng de xiǎo lù shàng， yòu yī zuò xiǎo shān bāo， zài nà lǐ， kě yǐ yī lǎn zhěng gè zhuāng yuán de dà bù fēn jǐng sè。 dòng wù men chōng dào xiǎo shān bāo dǐng shàng， zài qīng xīn de chén xī zhōng sì xià zhù shì。 shì de， zhè shì tā men de héng héng tā men mù guāng suǒ jí de měi yī jiàn dōng xī dōushì tā men de！ zài zhè gè niàn tóu dài lái de kuáng xǐ zhōng， tā men dōu zhe juàn zǐ tiào yā、 bèng yā， zài pēn yǒng 'ér lái de jí dù jī dòng zhōng， tā men měng dì bèng dào kōng zhōng。 tā men zài lù shuǐ shàng dǎ gǔn， jǔjué jǐ kǒu tián rùn de xià cǎo； tā men tī kāi hēi yǒu yǒu de tián tǔ， shǐ jìn shǔn xī nà ní kuài zhōng nóng yù de xiāng wèi。 rán hòu， tā men xún shì zhuāng yuán yī zhōu， zài wú shēng de zàn tàn zhōng chá kàn liǎo gēng dì、 mù chǎng、 guǒ shù yuán、 chí táng hé shù cóng。 fǎng fó tā men yǐ qián hái cóng méi yòu jiàn dào guò zhè xiē dōng xī shìde。 ér qiě， jiù shì zài zhè gè shí kè， tā men hái shì bù gǎn xiāng xìn zhè xiē dōushì tā men zì jǐ de。
hòu lái， tā men liè duì xiàng zhuāng yuán de wō péng zǒu qù， zài zhuāng zhù yuàn mén wài jìng jìng dì zhàn zhù liǎo。 zhè yě shì tā men de， kě shì， tā men què huáng kǒng dé bù gǎn jìn qù。 guò yī huì 'ér， bào hé ná pò lún yòng jiān zhuàng kāi mén， dòng wù men cái yú guàn 'ér rù， tā men xiǎo xīn yì yì dì zǒu zhe， shēng pà nòng luàn liǎo shénme。 tā men diǎn qǐ tí zǐ jiān yī gè wū jiē yī gè wū dì zǒu guò， lián bǐ 'ěr yǔ dà yī diǎn de shēng yīn dōubù gǎn zī yī xià， chū yú yī zhǒng jìng wèi， mù bù zhuǎn jīng dì dīng zhe zhè nán yǐ zhì xìn de shē huá， dīng zhe jìng zǐ、 mǎ zōng shā fā hé nà xiē yòng tā men de yǔ róng zhì chéng de chuáng pū， hái yòu bù lǔ sài 'ěr máo juàn dì tǎn， yǐ jí fàng zài kè tīng bì lú tái shàng de wéi duō lì yà nǚ wáng de píng bǎn xiào xiàng。 dāng tā men shí jí 'ér xià shí， fā xiàn mò lì bù jiàn liǎo。 zài zhé shēn huí qù， cái jiàn tā dāi zài hòu miàn yī jiān zuì hǎo de wò shì lǐ。 tā zài qióng sī fū rén de shū zhuāng tái shàng ná liǎo yī tiáo lán shì dài， shǎ xià jī jī dì zài jìng zǐ qián miàn tiē zhe jiān chòu měi qǐ lái。 zài dà jiā yán lì de chì zé xià， tā zhè cái yòu zǒu liǎo chū lái。 guà zài chú fáng lǐ de yī xiē huǒ tuǐ yě gěi ná chū qù mái liǎo， xǐ wǎn jiān de pí jiǔ tǒng bèi bào kè sè tī liǎo gè dòng。 chú cǐ zhī wài， fáng wū lǐ rèn hé qí tā dōng xī dōuméi yòu dòng guò。 zài zhuāng zhù yuàn xiàn chǎng yī zhì tōng guò liǎo yī xiàng jué yì： zhuāng zhù yuàn yìng bǎo cún qǐ lái zuò wéi bó wù guǎn。 dà jiā quándōu zàn chéng： rèn hé dòng wù dōubù dé zài cì jū zhù。
dòng wù men yòng wán zǎo cān， bào hé ná pò lún zài cì zhào jí qǐ tā men。
“ tóng zhì men”， bào shuō dào，“ xiàn zài shì liù diǎn bàn， xià miàn hái yòu zhěng zhěng yī tiān。 jīn tiān wǒ men kāi shǐ shōu gē mù cǎo， bù guò， hái yòu lìng wài yī jiàn shì qíng dé xiān shāng liàng yī xià”。
zhè shí， dà jiā cái zhī dào zhū zài guò qù de sān gè yuè zhōng， cóng yī běn jiù de pīn dú shū běn shàng zì xué liǎo yuè dú hé shū xiě。 nà běn shū céng shì qióng sī xiān shēng de hái zǐ de， zǎo xiān bèi rēng dào lā jī duī lǐ。 ná pò lún jiào ná lái jǐ tǒng hēi qī hé bái qī， dài lǐng dà jiā lái dào cháo zhe dà lù de wǔ shān mén。 jiē zhe， bào（ zhèng shì tā cái zuì shàn cháng shū xiě） yòng tí zǐ de shuāng zhǐ niē qǐ yī zhī shuà zǐ， tú diào liǎo shān lán dǐng de mù pái shàng de“ màn nà zhuāng yuán” jǐ gè zì， yòu zài nà shàng miàn xiě shàng“ dòng wù zhuāng yuán”。 zhè jiù shì zhuāng yuán yǐ hòu de míng zì。 xiě wán hòu， tā men yòu huí dào wō péng nà lǐ， bào hé ná pò lún yòu jiào ná lái yī jià tī zǐ， bìng ràng bǎ tī zǐ zhī zài dà gǔ cāng de qiáng tóu。 tā men jiě shì shuō， jīng guò guò qù sān gè yuè de yán tǎo， tā men yǐ jīng chéng gōng dì bǎ dòng wù zhù yì de yuán zé jiǎn huà wéi“ qī jiè”， zhè“ qī jiè” jiāng yào tí xiě zài qiáng shàng， tā men jiāng chéng wéi bù kě gēnggǎi de fǎ lǜ， suǒ yòu dòng wù zhuāng yuán de dòng wù dū bì xū yǒng yuǎn zūn xún tā shēng huó。 bào hǎo bù róng yì cái pá liǎo shàng qù（ yīn wéi zhū bù yì de tī zǐ shàng bǎo chí píng héng） bìng kāi shǐ máng hū qǐ lái， sī kuí lā zài bǐ tā dī jǐ gé de dì fāng duān zhe yóu qī tǒng。 zài shuà guò bǎi yóu de qiáng shàng， yòng jù dà de zì tǐ xiě zhe“ qī jiè”。 zì shì bái sè de， zài sān shí mǎ yǐ wài qīng xī kě biàn。 tā men shì zhè yàng xiě de：
qī jiè
1. fán kào liǎng tiáo tuǐ xíng zǒu zhě jiē wéi chóu dí；
2. fán kào sì zhī xíng zǒu zhě， huò zhě cháng chì bǎng zhě， jiē wéi qīn yǒu；
3. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé zhe yī；
4. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé wò chuáng；
5. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé yǐn jiǔ；
6. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé shāng hài qí tā dòng wù；
7. suǒ yòu dòng wù yī lǜ píng děng。
xiěde shí fēn xiāo sǎ， chú liǎo bǎ qīn yǒu“ friend” xiě chéng liǎo“ freind”， yǐ jí qí zhōng yòu yī chù“ S” xiě fǎn zhī wài， quán bù pīn xiě dé hěn zhèng què。 bào dà shēng niàn gěi bié de dòng wù tīng， suǒ yòu zài chǎng de dòng wù dū pín pín diǎn tóu， biǎo shì wán quán zàn tóng。 jiào wéi cōng míng yī xiē de dòng wù lì jí kāi shǐ bèi sòng qǐ lái。
“ xiàn zài， tóng zhì men”， bào rēng xià yóu qī shuà zǐ shuō dào，“ dào mù chǎng shàng qù ! wǒ men yào zhēng kǒu qì， yào bǐ qióng sī tā men yī huǒ rén gèng kuài dì shōu wán mù cǎo”。
jiù zài zhè shí kè， zǎo yǐ yòu hǎo dà yī huì xiǎn dé hěn bù zì zài de sān tóu mǔ niú fā chū zhèn 'ěr de mōu mōu shēng。 yǐ jīng 'èr shí sì xiǎo shí méi yòu gěi tā men jǐ nǎi liǎo。 tā men de nǎi zǐ kuài yào zhàng pò liǎo。 zhū shāo yī xún sī， ràng qǔ lái nǎi tǒng， xiāng dāng chéng gōng dì gěi mǔ niú jǐ liǎo nǎi， tā men de tí zǐ shí fēn shì yú gān zhè gè huó。 hěn kuài， jiù jǐ mǎn liǎo wǔ tǒng mào zhe mò de rǔ bái sè niú nǎi， xǔ duō dòng wù jīn jīn yòu wèi dì qiáo zhe nǎi tǒng zhōng de nǎi。
“ zhè xiē niú nǎi kě zěn me bàn ní？” yòu yī gè dòng wù wèn dá。
“ qióng sī xiān shēng guò qù cháng cháng gěi wǒ men de gǔ kāng sì liào zhōng càn yī xiē niú nǎi”， yòu zhǐ mǔ jī shuō dào。
“ bié lǐ huì niú nǎi liǎo， tóng zhì men！” zhàn zài nǎi tǒng qián de ná pò lún dà shēng hǎn dào，“ niú nǎi huì gěi zhào kàn hǎo de， shōu gē mù cǎo cái gèng zhòng liǎo， bào tóng zhì lǐng nǐ men qù， wǒ suí hòu jiù lái。 qián jìn， tóng zhì men！ mù cǎo zài děng dài zhe！”
yú shì， dòng wù men chéng qún jié duì dì zǒu xiàng dà mù chǎng， kāi shǐ liǎo shōu gē。 dāng tā men wǎn shàng shōu gōng huí lái de shí hòu， dà jiā zhù yì de： niú nǎi yǐ jīng bù jiàn liǎo。
This was early in March. During the next three months there was much secret activity. Major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life. They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals. Pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was breeding up for sale. Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way. Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character. All the other male pigs on the farm were porkers. The best known among them was a small fat pig named Squealer, with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements, and a shrill voice. He was a brilliant talker, and when he was arguing some difficult point he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive. The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.
These three had elaborated old Major's teachings into a complete system of thought, to which they gave the name of Animalism. Several nights a week, after Mr. Jones was asleep, they held secret meetings in the barn and expounded the principles of Animalism to the others. At the beginning they met with much stupidity and apathy. Some of the animals talked of the duty of loyalty to Mr. Jones, whom they referred to as "Master," or made elementary remarks such as "Mr. Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should starve to death." Others asked such questions as "Why should we care what happens after we are dead?" or "If this Rebellion is to happen anyway, what difference does it make whether we work for it or not?", and the pigs had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The stupidest questions of all were asked by Mollie, the white mare. The very first question she asked Snowball was: "Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?"
"No," said Snowball firmly. "We have no means of making sugar on this farm. Besides, you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want."
"And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?" asked Mollie.
"Comrade," said Snowball, "those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons? "
Mollie agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.
The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven. Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.
Their most faithful disciples were the two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover. These two had great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, but having once accepted the pigs as their teachers, they absorbed everything that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals by simple arguments. They were unfailing in their attendance at the secret meetings in the barn, and led the singing of Beasts of England, with which the meetings always ended.
Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected. In past years Mr. Jones, although a hard master, had been a capable farmer, but of late he had fallen on evil days. He had become much disheartened after losing money in a lawsuit, and had taken to drinking more than was good for him. For whole days at a time he would lounge in his Windsor chair in the kitchen, reading the newspapers, drinking, and occasionally feeding Moses on crusts of bread soaked in beer. His men were idle and dishonest, the fields were full of weeds, the buildings wanted roofing, the hedges were neglected, and the animals were underfed.
June came and the hay was almost ready for cutting. On Midsummer's Eve, which was a Saturday, Mr. Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk at the Red Lion that he did not come back till midday on Sunday. The men had milked the cows in the early morning and then had gone out rabbiting, without bothering to feed the animals. When Mr. Jones got back he immediately went to sleep on the drawing-room sofa with the News of the World over his face, so that when evening came, the animals were still unfed. At last they could stand it no longer. 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. It was just then that Mr. Jones woke up. The next moment he and his four men were in the store-shed with whips in their hands, lashing out in all directions. This was more than the hungry animals could bear. With one accord, though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand, they flung themselves upon their tormentors. Jones and his men suddenly found themselves being butted and kicked from all sides. The situation was quite out of their control. They had never seen animals behave like this before, and this sudden uprising of creatures whom they were used to thrashing and maltreating just as they chose, frightened them almost out of their wits. After only a moment or two they gave up trying to defend themselves and took to their heels. A minute later all five of them were in full flight down the cart-track that led to the main road, with the animals pursuing them in triumph.
Mrs. Jones looked out of the bedroom window, saw what was happening, hurriedly flung a few possessions into a carpet bag, and slipped out of the farm by another way. Moses sprang off his perch and flapped after her, croaking loudly. Meanwhile the animals had chased Jones and his men out on to the road and slammed the five-barred gate behind them. And so, almost before they knew what was happening, the Rebellion had been successfully carried through: Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs.
For the first few minutes the animals could hardly believe in their good fortune. Their first act was to gallop in a body right round the boundaries of the farm, as though to make quite sure that no human being was hiding anywhere upon it; then they raced back to the farm buildings to wipe out the last traces of Jones's hated reign. The harness-room at the end of the stables was broken open; the bits, the nose-rings, the dog-chains, the cruel knives with which Mr. Jones had been used to castrate the pigs and lambs, were all flung down the well. The reins, the halters, the blinkers, the degrading nosebags, were thrown on to the rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were the whips. All the animals capered with joy when they saw the whips going up in flames. Snowball also threw on to the fire the ribbons with which the horses' manes and tails had usually been decorated on market days.
"Ribbons," he said, "should be considered as clothes, which are the mark of a human being. All animals should go naked."
When Boxer heard this he fetched the small straw hat which he wore in summer to keep the flies out of his ears, and flung it on to the fire with the rest.
In a very little while the animals had destroyed everything that reminded them of Mr. Jones. Napoleon then led them back to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody, with two biscuits for each dog. Then they sang Beasts of England from end to end seven times running, and after that they settled down for the night and slept as they had never slept before.
But they woke at dawn as usual, and suddenly remembering the glorious thing that had happened, they all raced out into the pasture together. A little way down the pasture there was a knoll that commanded a view of most of the farm. The animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round them in the clear morning light. Yes, it was theirs-everything that they could see was theirs! In the ecstasy of that thought they gambolled round and round, they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement. They rolled in the dew, they cropped mouthfuls of the sweet summer grass, they kicked up clods of the black earth and snuffed its rich scent. Then they made a tour of inspection of the whole farm and surveyed with speechless admiration the ploughland, the hayfield, the orchard, the pool, the spinney. It was as though they had never seen these things before, and even now they could hardly believe that it was all their own.
Then they filed back to the farm buildings and halted in silence outside the door of the farmhouse. That was theirs too, but they were frightened to go inside. After a moment, however, Snowball and Napoleon butted the door open with their shoulders and the animals entered in single file, walking with the utmost care for fear of disturbing anything. They tiptoed from room to room, afraid to speak above a whisper and gazing with a kind of awe at the unbelievable luxury, at the beds with their feather mattresses, the looking-glasses, the horsehair sofa, the Brussels carpet, the lithograph of Queen Victoria over the drawing-room mantelpiece. They were lust coming down the stairs when Mollie was discovered to be missing. Going back, the others found that she had remained behind in the best bedroom. She had taken a piece of blue ribbon from Mrs. Jones's dressing-table, and was holding it against her shoulder and admiring herself in the glass in a very foolish manner. The others reproached her sharply, and they went outside. Some hams hanging in the kitchen were taken out for burial, and the barrel of beer in the scullery was stove in with a kick from Boxer's hoof,-otherwise nothing in the house was touched. A unanimous resolution was passed on the spot that the farmhouse should be preserved as a museum. All were agreed that no animal must ever live there.
The animals had their breakfast, and then Snowball and Napoleon called them together again.
"Comrades," said Snowball, "it is half-past six and we have a long day before us. Today we begin the hay harvest. But there is another matter that must be attended to first."
The pigs now revealed that during the past three months they had taught themselves to read and write from an old spelling book which had belonged to Mr. Jones's children and which had been thrown on the rubbish heap. Napoleon sent for pots of black and white paint and led the way down to the five-barred gate that gave on to the main road. Then Snowball (for it was Snowball who was best at writing) took a brush between the two knuckles of his trotter, painted out MANOR FARM from the top bar of the gate and in its place painted ANIMAL FARM. This was to be the name of the farm from now onwards. After this they went back to the farm buildings, where Snowball and Napoleon sent for a ladder which they caused to be set against the end wall of the big barn. They explained that by their studies of the past three months the pigs had succeeded in reducing the principles of Animalism to Seven Commandments. These Seven Commandments would now be inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law by which all the animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after. With some difficulty (for it is not easy for a pig to balance himself on a ladder) Snowball climbed up and set to work, with Squealer a few rungs below him holding the paint-pot. The Commandments were written on the tarred wall in great white letters that could be read thirty yards away. They ran thus:
THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
It was very neatly written, and except that "friend" was written "freind" and one of the "S's" was the wrong way round, the spelling was correct all the way through. Snowball read it aloud for the benefit of the others. All the animals nodded in complete agreement, and the cleverer ones at once began to learn the Commandments by heart.
"Now, comrades," cried Snowball, throwing down the paint-brush, "to the hayfield! Let us make it a point of honour to get in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men could do."
But at this moment the three cows, who had seemed uneasy for some time past, set up a loud lowing. They had not been milked for twenty-four hours, and their udders were almost bursting. After a little thought, the pigs sent for buckets and milked the cows fairly successfully, their trotters being well adapted to this task. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk at which many of the animals looked with considerable interest.
"What is going to happen to all that milk?" said someone.
"Jones used sometimes to mix some of it in our mash," said one of the hens.
"Never mind the milk, comrades!" cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. "That will be attended to. The harvest is more important. Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall follow in a few minutes. Forward, comrades! The hay is waiting."
So the animals trooped down to the hayfield to begin the harvest, and when they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared.
zhè shì sān yuè chū de shì。
cóng cǐ yǐ hòu de sān gè yuè lǐ， yòu hěn duō mì mì huó dòng。 mài zhé de yǎn jiǎng gěi zhuāng yuán lǐ nà xiē bǐ jiào cōng míng de dòng wù dài lái liǎo yī gè quán xīn de shēng huó guān niàn。 tā men bù zhī dào mài zhé yù yán de zào fǎn shénme shí hòu cái néng fā shēng， tā men yě wú fǎ xiǎng xiàng zào fǎn huì zài tā men yòu shēng zhī nián nèi dào lái。 dàn tā men qīng chǔ dì xiǎo dé， wèicǐ zuò zhǔn bèi jiù shì tā men de zé rèn。 xùn dǎo hé zǔ zhì qí tā dòng wù de gōng zuò， zì rán dì luò zài zhū de shēn shàng， tā men bèi yī zhì rèn wéi shì dòng wù zhōng zuì cōng míng de。 ér qí zhōng zuì jié chū de shì liǎng tóu míng jiào bào hé ná pò lún de xióng zhū， tā men shì qióng sī xiān shēng wéi chū shòu wèi yǎng de。 ná pò lún shì tóu bó kè xià xióng zhū， yě shì zhuāng yuán zhōng wéi yī de bó kè xià zhǒng， gè tóu tǐng dà， kàn qǐ lái hěn xiōng， shuō huà bù duō， sù yǐ gù zhí 'ér chū míng。 xiāng bǐ zhī xià， bào yào líng lì duō liǎo， kǒu cái hǎo， yě gèng yòu dú chuàng xìng， dàn kàn qǐ lái gè xìng shàng méi yòu ná pò lún nà me shēn chén。 zhuāng yuán lǐ qí tā de zhū dū shì ròu zhū。 tā men zhōng zuì chū míng de shì yī tóu duǎn xiǎo 'ér féi pàng de zhū， míng jiào sī kuí lā。 tā cháng zhe yuán yuán de miàn jiá， jiǒng jiǒng shǎn shuò de yǎn jīng， dòng zuò mǐn jié， shēng yīn jiān xì， shì gè bù kě duō dé de yǎn shuō jiā。 yóu qí shì zài chǎn shù mǒu xiē jiān shēn de lùn diǎn shí， tā xí guàn yú biān jiǎng jiě biān lái huí bù tíng dì bèng tiào， tóng shí hái shuǎi dòng zhe wěi bā。 ér nà wán yì 'ér bù zhī zěn me gǎo dì jiù shì fù yòu gǔ huò lì。 bié de dòng wù tí dào sī kuí lā shí， dōushuō tā néng bǎ hēi de shuō chéng bái de。
zhè sān tóu zhū bǎ lǎo mài zhé de xùn dǎo yòng xīn zhuó mó， tuī qiāo chū yī tào wán zhěng de sī xiǎng tǐ xì， tā men chēng zhī wéi“ dòng wù zhù yì”。 měi zhōu zǒng yòu jǐ gè yè wǎn， děng qióng sī xiān shēng rù shuì hòu， tā men jiù zài dà hù cāng lǐ zhào jí mì mì huì yì， xiàng qí tā dòng wù xiáng xì chǎn shù dòng wù zhù yì de yào zhǐ。 qǐ chū， tā men zhēn duì de shì nà xiē chí dùn hé má mù de dòng wù。 zhè xiē dòng wù zhōng， yòu yī xiē hái dà tán shénme duì qióng sī xiān shēng de zhōng chéng de yì wù， bǎ tā shì wéi“ zhù rén”， tí chū hěn duō qiǎn bó de kàn fǎ， bǐ rú“ qióng sī xiān shēng wèi yǎng wǒ men， rú guǒ tā zǒu liǎo， wǒ men huì 'è sǐ de”。 děng děng。 hái yòu de wèn dào zhè yàng de wèn tí：“ wǒ men gān má yào guān xīn wǒ men sǐ hòu cái néng fā shēng de shì qíng？” huò zhě wèn：“ rú guǒ zào fǎn zhù dìng yào fā shēng， wǒ men gànbù gān yòu yòu shénme guān xì？” yīn 'ér， wéi liǎo jiào tā men dǒng dé zhè xiē shuō fǎ dōushì yǔ dòng wù zhù yì xiāng bèi lí de， zhū jiù xià liǎo hěn dà de gōng fū。 zhè yú chǔn de wèn tí shì nà pǐ bái cí mǎ mò lì tí chū lái de， tā xiàng bào zuì xiān wèn de wèn tí shì：“ zào fǎn yǐ hòu hái yòu táng má？”
“ méi yòu”， bào jiān dìng dì shuō，“ wǒ men méi yòu bàn fǎ zài zhuāng yuán zhì táng， zài shuō， nǐ bù xū yào táng， ér nǐ xiǎng yào de yàn mài hé cǎo liào nǐ dū huì yòu de”。
“ nà wǒ hái néng zài zōng máo shàng zhā shì dài má？” mò lì wèn。
“ tóng zhì”， bào shuō，“ nà xiē nǐ rú cǐ zhōng 'ài de shì dài quán shì nú lì de biāo jì。 nǐ nán dào bù míng bái zì yóu bǐ shì dài gèng yòu jià zhí má？”
mò lì tóng yì liǎo， dàn tīng qǐ lái bìng bù shí fēn kěn dìng。
zhū miàn duì de gèng kùn nán de shì qíng， shì duì fù nà zhǐ xùn shùn liǎo de wū yā mó xī sàn bù de huǎng yán。 mó xī zhè gè qióng sī xiān shēng de tè shū chǒng wù， shì gè jiān xì hé ráo shé de jiā huǒ， hái shì gè líng qiǎo de shuìkè。 tā shēng chēng tā zhī dào yòu yī gè jiào zuò“ mì táng shān” de shén mì guó dù， nà lǐ shì suǒ yòu dòng wù sǐ hòu de guī sù。 tā jiù zài tiān kōng zhōng yún céng shàng miàn de bù yuǎn chù。 mó xī shuō， zài mì táng shān， měi zhōu qī tiān， tiān tiān dōushì xīng qī tiān， yī nián sì jì dōuyòu mù xu， zài nà lǐ， fāng táng hé yà má zǐ bǐng jiù cháng zài shù lí shàng。 dòng wù men zēng 'è mó xī， yīn wéi tā guāng shuō xián huà 'ér bù gànhuó， dàn dòng wù zhōng yě yòu xiāng xìn mì táng shān de。 suǒ yǐ， zhū bù dé bù jié lì zhēng biàn， jiào dòng wù men xiāng xìn gēn běn jiù bù cún zài nà me yī gè dì fāng。
tā men zuì zhōng shí de zhuī suí zhě shì nà liǎng pǐ tào huò chē de mǎ， bào kè sè hé kè lā fú。 duì tā men liǎ lái shuō， kào zì jǐ xiǎng tōng rèn hé wèn tí dōuhěn kùn nán。 ér yī dàn bǎ zhū rèn zuò tā men de dǎo shī， tā men biàn xī qǔ liǎo zhū jiāogěi tā men de yī qiē dōng xī， hái tōng guò yī xiē jiǎn dān de tǎo lùn bǎ zhè xiē dào lǐ chuán shòu gěi qí tā de dòng wù。 dà gǔ cāng zhōng de mì mì huì yì， tā men yě cóng bù quē xí。 měi dāng huì yì jié shù yào chàng nà shǒu“ yīng gé lán shòu” shí， yě yóu tā men dài tóu chàng qǐ。
zhè yī zhèn zǐ， jiù jiēguǒ 'ér yán， zào fǎn zhī shì bǐ rèn hé yī gè dòng wù suǒ yù qī dedōu yào lái dé gèng zǎo yě gèng shùn lì。 zài guò qù shù nián jiān， qióng sī xiān shēng jìn guǎn shì gè lěng kù de zhù rén， dàn bù shī wéi yī wèi néng gān de zhuāng yuán zhù， kě shì jìn lái， tā zhèng chù yú bèi yùn de shí hòu， dǎ guān sī zhōng péi liǎo qián， tā gèng jù sàng chén lún， yú shì pīn mìng dì hē jiǔ。 yòu yī zhèn zǐ， tā zhěng rì dāi zài chú fáng lǐ， lǎn yáng yáng dì zuò zài tā de wēn suō yǐ shàng， fān kàn zhe bào zhǐ， hē zhe jiǔ， ǒu 'ěr bǎ gān miàn bāo piàn zài pí jiǔ lǐ zhān yī xià wèi gěi mó xī。 tā de huǒ jì men yě wú suǒ shì shì， zhè bù shǒu zhí。 tián dì lǐ cháng mǎn liǎo yě cǎo， wō péng dǐng péng yě lòu liǎo， shù lí wú rén zhào guǎn， dòng wù men jī cháng lù lù。
liù yuè， yǎn kàn dào liǎo shōu gē mù cǎo de shí jié。 zài shī xǐ yuē hàn jié de qián xī， nà yī tiān shì xīng qī liù， qióng sī xiān shēng qù liǎo wēi líng dùn， zài léi dé lán hē liǎo gè làn zuì， zhí dào dì 'èr tiān， yě jiù shì xīng qī tiān de zhèng wǔ shí fēn cái gǎn huí lái。 tā de huǒ jì men yī dà zǎo jǐ wán niú nǎi， jiù páo chū qù dǎ tù zǐ liǎo， méi yòu cāo xīn gěi dòng wù tiān jiā cǎo liào。 ér qióng sī xiān shēng yī huí lái， jiù zài kè tīng lǐ ná liǎo yī zhāng《 shì jiè xīn wén》 bào gài zài liǎn shàng， zài shā fā shàng shuì zhe liǎo。 suǒ yǐ yī zhí dào wǎn shàng， dòng wù men hái méi yòu gěi wèi guò。 tā men zhōng yú rěn shòu bù zhù liǎo， yòu yī tóu mǔ niú yòng jiǎo zhuàng kāi liǎo zhù cáng péng de mén， yú shì， suǒ yòu de dòng wù yī yōng 'ér shàng， zì gù zì dì cóng sì liào xiāng lǐ qiǎng dōng xī。 jiù zài cǐ kè， qióng sī xiān shēng xǐng liǎo。 bù yī huì 'ér， tā hé tā de sì gè huǒ jì shǒu lǐ ná zhe biān zǐ chū xiàn zài zhù cáng péng， shàng lái jiù sì chù luàn dǎ yī qì。 jī 'è de dòng wù nǎ lǐ hái shòu dào liǎo zhè gè， jìn guǎn háo wú rèn hé yù móu， dàn dōubù yuē 'ér tóng dì， měng dì pū xiàng zhè xiē zhé mó tā men de zhù rén。 qióng sī xiān shēng yī huǒ hū rán fā xiàn tā men zì jǐ zhèng chù zài sì miàn bèi wéi zhī zhōng。 bèi jī jiǎo dǐ， bèi tí zǐ tī， xíng shì wán quán shī qù liǎo kòng zhì。 tā men cóng qián hái méi yòu jiàn dào dòng wù zhè yàng de jǔ dòng， tā men céng jīng shì zěn yàng suí xīn suǒ yù de biān chī hé zhè yī qún chù shēng！ ér zhè qún chù shēng men de tū rán xià dé tā men jīhū bù zhī suǒ cuò。 zhuǎn yǎn gōng fū， tā men fàng qì zì wèi， bá tuǐ biàn táo。 yòu guò liǎo gè bǎ fēn zhōng， zài dòng wù men shì rú pò zhú de zhuī gǎn xià， tā men wǔ gè rén yán zhe tōng wǎng dà lù de chē dào cāng huáng bài táo。
qióng sī fū rén zài wò shì zhōng kàn dào chuāng wài fā shēng de yī qiē， cōng máng chāi xiē xì ruǎn sài jìn yī gè máo zhān shǒu tí bāo lǐ， cóng lìng yī tiáo lù shàng liù chū liǎo zhuāng yuán。 mó xī cóng tā de jià zǐ shàng tiào qǐ lái， pū pū téng téng dì wěi suí zhe qióng sī fū rén， gū gū dì dà shēng jiào zhe。 zhè shí， dòng wù men yǐ jīng bǎ qióng sī yī huǒ gǎn dào wài miàn de dà lù shàng， rán hòu pēng dì yī shēng guān shàng wǔ shān mén。 jiù zhè yàng， zài tā men jīhū hái méi yòu fǎn yìng guò lái shí， zào fǎn yǐ jīng wán quán chéng gōng liǎo： qióng sī bèi qū zhú liǎo， màn nà zhuāng yuán chéng liǎo tā men zì jǐ de。
qǐ chū， yòu hǎo dà yī huì， dòng wù men jiǎn zhí bù gǎn xiāng xìn tā men de hǎo yùn qì。 tā men zuò de dì yī jiàn shì jiù shì yán zhe zhuāng yuán bēn chí zhe rào liǎo yī juàn， fǎng fó shì yào chè dǐ zhèng shí yī xià zài yě méi yòu rén cáng zài zhuāng yuán lǐ liǎo。 jiē zhe， yòu bēn huí wō péng zhōng， bǎ nà xiē shǔ yú kě zēng de qióng sī tǒng zhì de zuì hòu yìn jì xiāo chú diào。 mǎ jiù duān tóu de nóng jù péng bèi zá kāi liǎo， juézǐ、 bí huán、 gǒu yòng de xiàng juàn， yǐ jí qióng sī xiān shēng guò qù cháng wéi yān zhū、 yān yáng yòng de cán kù de dāo zǐ， tǒng tǒng gěi diū jìn jǐng lǐ。 jiāng shéng、 lóng tóu、 yǎn zhào hé kě chǐ de guà zài mǎ bó zǐ shàng de cǎo liào dài， quándōu yǔ lā jī yī qǐ duī dào yuàn zhōng， yī bǎ huǒ shāo liǎo。 biān zǐ gèng bù lì wài。 dòng wù men yǎn kàn zhe biān zǐ zài huǒ yàn zhōng shāo qǐ， tā men quándōu xīng gāo cǎi liè de huān hū què yuè qǐ lái。 bào hái bǎ shì dài yě rēng jìn huǒ lǐ， nà xiē shì dài shì guò qù cháng zài gǎn jí shí zhā zài mǎ zōng hé mǎyǐ shàng yòng de。
“ shì dài”， tā shuō dào，“ yīnggāi shì tóng yī fú， zhè shì rén lèi de biāo jì。 suǒ yòu de dòng wù dū yìng gāi yī sī bù guà”。
bào kè sè tīng dào zhè lǐ， biàn bǎ tā xià tiān dài de yī dǐng xiǎo cǎo mào yě ná chū lái， zhè dǐng cǎo mào běn lái shì fáng zhǐ yíng chóng zuānrù 'ěr duǒ cái dài de， tā yě bǎ tā hé bié de dōng xī yī dào rēng jìn liǎo rén huǒ zhōng。
bù dà yī huì 'ér， dòng wù men biàn bǎ suǒ yòu néng yǐn qǐ tā men lián xiǎng dào qióng sī xiān shēng de dōng xī quán huǐ wán liǎo。 rán hòu， ná pò lún shuài lǐng tā men huí dào zhù cáng péng lǐ， gěi tā men fēn fā liǎo shuāng fèn yù mǐ， gěi gǒu fā liǎo shuāng fèn bǐng gān。 jiē zhe， tā men cóng tóu zhì wěi bǎ“ yīng gé lán shòu” chàng liǎo qī biàn。 rán hòu 'ān dùn xià lái， ér qiě měi měi shuì liǎo yī yè， hǎo xiàng tā men hái cóng lái méi yòu shuì guò jué shìde。
dàn tā men hái shì zhào cháng zài lí míng shí xǐng lái， zhuǎn niàn xiǎng qǐ yǐ jīng fā shēng liǎo nà me liǎo bù qǐ de shì qíng， tā men quándōu páo chū lái， yī qǐ chōng xiàng dà mù chǎng。 tōng xiàng mù chǎng de xiǎo lù shàng， yòu yī zuò xiǎo shān bāo， zài nà lǐ， kě yǐ yī lǎn zhěng gè zhuāng yuán de dà bù fēn jǐng sè。 dòng wù men chōng dào xiǎo shān bāo dǐng shàng， zài qīng xīn de chén xī zhōng sì xià zhù shì。 shì de， zhè shì tā men de héng héng tā men mù guāng suǒ jí de měi yī jiàn dōng xī dōushì tā men de！ zài zhè gè niàn tóu dài lái de kuáng xǐ zhōng， tā men dōu zhe juàn zǐ tiào yā、 bèng yā， zài pēn yǒng 'ér lái de jí dù jī dòng zhōng， tā men měng dì bèng dào kōng zhōng。 tā men zài lù shuǐ shàng dǎ gǔn， jǔjué jǐ kǒu tián rùn de xià cǎo； tā men tī kāi hēi yǒu yǒu de tián tǔ， shǐ jìn shǔn xī nà ní kuài zhōng nóng yù de xiāng wèi。 rán hòu， tā men xún shì zhuāng yuán yī zhōu， zài wú shēng de zàn tàn zhōng chá kàn liǎo gēng dì、 mù chǎng、 guǒ shù yuán、 chí táng hé shù cóng。 fǎng fó tā men yǐ qián hái cóng méi yòu jiàn dào guò zhè xiē dōng xī shìde。 ér qiě， jiù shì zài zhè gè shí kè， tā men hái shì bù gǎn xiāng xìn zhè xiē dōushì tā men zì jǐ de。
hòu lái， tā men liè duì xiàng zhuāng yuán de wō péng zǒu qù， zài zhuāng zhù yuàn mén wài jìng jìng dì zhàn zhù liǎo。 zhè yě shì tā men de， kě shì， tā men què huáng kǒng dé bù gǎn jìn qù。 guò yī huì 'ér， bào hé ná pò lún yòng jiān zhuàng kāi mén， dòng wù men cái yú guàn 'ér rù， tā men xiǎo xīn yì yì dì zǒu zhe， shēng pà nòng luàn liǎo shénme。 tā men diǎn qǐ tí zǐ jiān yī gè wū jiē yī gè wū dì zǒu guò， lián bǐ 'ěr yǔ dà yī diǎn de shēng yīn dōubù gǎn zī yī xià， chū yú yī zhǒng jìng wèi， mù bù zhuǎn jīng dì dīng zhe zhè nán yǐ zhì xìn de shē huá， dīng zhe jìng zǐ、 mǎ zōng shā fā hé nà xiē yòng tā men de yǔ róng zhì chéng de chuáng pū， hái yòu bù lǔ sài 'ěr máo juàn dì tǎn， yǐ jí fàng zài kè tīng bì lú tái shàng de wéi duō lì yà nǚ wáng de píng bǎn xiào xiàng。 dāng tā men shí jí 'ér xià shí， fā xiàn mò lì bù jiàn liǎo。 zài zhé shēn huí qù， cái jiàn tā dāi zài hòu miàn yī jiān zuì hǎo de wò shì lǐ。 tā zài qióng sī fū rén de shū zhuāng tái shàng ná liǎo yī tiáo lán shì dài， shǎ xià jī jī dì zài jìng zǐ qián miàn tiē zhe jiān chòu měi qǐ lái。 zài dà jiā yán lì de chì zé xià， tā zhè cái yòu zǒu liǎo chū lái。 guà zài chú fáng lǐ de yī xiē huǒ tuǐ yě gěi ná chū qù mái liǎo， xǐ wǎn jiān de pí jiǔ tǒng bèi bào kè sè tī liǎo gè dòng。 chú cǐ zhī wài， fáng wū lǐ rèn hé qí tā dōng xī dōuméi yòu dòng guò。 zài zhuāng zhù yuàn xiàn chǎng yī zhì tōng guò liǎo yī xiàng jué yì： zhuāng zhù yuàn yìng bǎo cún qǐ lái zuò wéi bó wù guǎn。 dà jiā quándōu zàn chéng： rèn hé dòng wù dōubù dé zài cì jū zhù。
dòng wù men yòng wán zǎo cān， bào hé ná pò lún zài cì zhào jí qǐ tā men。
“ tóng zhì men”， bào shuō dào，“ xiàn zài shì liù diǎn bàn， xià miàn hái yòu zhěng zhěng yī tiān。 jīn tiān wǒ men kāi shǐ shōu gē mù cǎo， bù guò， hái yòu lìng wài yī jiàn shì qíng dé xiān shāng liàng yī xià”。
zhè shí， dà jiā cái zhī dào zhū zài guò qù de sān gè yuè zhōng， cóng yī běn jiù de pīn dú shū běn shàng zì xué liǎo yuè dú hé shū xiě。 nà běn shū céng shì qióng sī xiān shēng de hái zǐ de， zǎo xiān bèi rēng dào lā jī duī lǐ。 ná pò lún jiào ná lái jǐ tǒng hēi qī hé bái qī， dài lǐng dà jiā lái dào cháo zhe dà lù de wǔ shān mén。 jiē zhe， bào（ zhèng shì tā cái zuì shàn cháng shū xiě） yòng tí zǐ de shuāng zhǐ niē qǐ yī zhī shuà zǐ， tú diào liǎo shān lán dǐng de mù pái shàng de“ màn nà zhuāng yuán” jǐ gè zì， yòu zài nà shàng miàn xiě shàng“ dòng wù zhuāng yuán”。 zhè jiù shì zhuāng yuán yǐ hòu de míng zì。 xiě wán hòu， tā men yòu huí dào wō péng nà lǐ， bào hé ná pò lún yòu jiào ná lái yī jià tī zǐ， bìng ràng bǎ tī zǐ zhī zài dà gǔ cāng de qiáng tóu。 tā men jiě shì shuō， jīng guò guò qù sān gè yuè de yán tǎo， tā men yǐ jīng chéng gōng dì bǎ dòng wù zhù yì de yuán zé jiǎn huà wéi“ qī jiè”， zhè“ qī jiè” jiāng yào tí xiě zài qiáng shàng， tā men jiāng chéng wéi bù kě gēnggǎi de fǎ lǜ， suǒ yòu dòng wù zhuāng yuán de dòng wù dū bì xū yǒng yuǎn zūn xún tā shēng huó。 bào hǎo bù róng yì cái pá liǎo shàng qù（ yīn wéi zhū bù yì de tī zǐ shàng bǎo chí píng héng） bìng kāi shǐ máng hū qǐ lái， sī kuí lā zài bǐ tā dī jǐ gé de dì fāng duān zhe yóu qī tǒng。 zài shuà guò bǎi yóu de qiáng shàng， yòng jù dà de zì tǐ xiě zhe“ qī jiè”。 zì shì bái sè de， zài sān shí mǎ yǐ wài qīng xī kě biàn。 tā men shì zhè yàng xiě de：
qī jiè
1. fán kào liǎng tiáo tuǐ xíng zǒu zhě jiē wéi chóu dí；
2. fán kào sì zhī xíng zǒu zhě， huò zhě cháng chì bǎng zhě， jiē wéi qīn yǒu；
3. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé zhe yī；
4. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé wò chuáng；
5. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé yǐn jiǔ；
6. rèn hé dòng wù bù dé shāng hài qí tā dòng wù；
7. suǒ yòu dòng wù yī lǜ píng děng。
xiěde shí fēn xiāo sǎ， chú liǎo bǎ qīn yǒu“ friend” xiě chéng liǎo“ freind”， yǐ jí qí zhōng yòu yī chù“ S” xiě fǎn zhī wài， quán bù pīn xiě dé hěn zhèng què。 bào dà shēng niàn gěi bié de dòng wù tīng， suǒ yòu zài chǎng de dòng wù dū pín pín diǎn tóu， biǎo shì wán quán zàn tóng。 jiào wéi cōng míng yī xiē de dòng wù lì jí kāi shǐ bèi sòng qǐ lái。
“ xiàn zài， tóng zhì men”， bào rēng xià yóu qī shuà zǐ shuō dào，“ dào mù chǎng shàng qù ! wǒ men yào zhēng kǒu qì， yào bǐ qióng sī tā men yī huǒ rén gèng kuài dì shōu wán mù cǎo”。
jiù zài zhè shí kè， zǎo yǐ yòu hǎo dà yī huì xiǎn dé hěn bù zì zài de sān tóu mǔ niú fā chū zhèn 'ěr de mōu mōu shēng。 yǐ jīng 'èr shí sì xiǎo shí méi yòu gěi tā men jǐ nǎi liǎo。 tā men de nǎi zǐ kuài yào zhàng pò liǎo。 zhū shāo yī xún sī， ràng qǔ lái nǎi tǒng， xiāng dāng chéng gōng dì gěi mǔ niú jǐ liǎo nǎi， tā men de tí zǐ shí fēn shì yú gān zhè gè huó。 hěn kuài， jiù jǐ mǎn liǎo wǔ tǒng mào zhe mò de rǔ bái sè niú nǎi， xǔ duō dòng wù jīn jīn yòu wèi dì qiáo zhe nǎi tǒng zhōng de nǎi。
“ zhè xiē niú nǎi kě zěn me bàn ní？” yòu yī gè dòng wù wèn dá。
“ qióng sī xiān shēng guò qù cháng cháng gěi wǒ men de gǔ kāng sì liào zhōng càn yī xiē niú nǎi”， yòu zhǐ mǔ jī shuō dào。
“ bié lǐ huì niú nǎi liǎo， tóng zhì men！” zhàn zài nǎi tǒng qián de ná pò lún dà shēng hǎn dào，“ niú nǎi huì gěi zhào kàn hǎo de， shōu gē mù cǎo cái gèng zhòng liǎo， bào tóng zhì lǐng nǐ men qù， wǒ suí hòu jiù lái。 qián jìn， tóng zhì men！ mù cǎo zài děng dài zhe！”
yú shì， dòng wù men chéng qún jié duì dì zǒu xiàng dà mù chǎng， kāi shǐ liǎo shōu gē。 dāng tā men wǎn shàng shōu gōng huí lái de shí hòu， dà jiā zhù yì de： niú nǎi yǐ jīng bù jiàn liǎo。
This was early in March. During the next three months there was much secret activity. Major's speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life. They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. The work of teaching and organising the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognised as being the cleverest of the animals. Pre-eminent among the pigs were two young boars named Snowball and Napoleon, whom Mr. Jones was breeding up for sale. Napoleon was a large, rather fierce-looking Berkshire boar, the only Berkshire on the farm, not much of a talker, but with a reputation for getting his own way. Snowball was a more vivacious pig than Napoleon, quicker in speech and more inventive, but was not considered to have the same depth of character. All the other male pigs on the farm were porkers. The best known among them was a small fat pig named Squealer, with very round cheeks, twinkling eyes, nimble movements, and a shrill voice. He was a brilliant talker, and when he was arguing some difficult point he had a way of skipping from side to side and whisking his tail which was somehow very persuasive. The others said of Squealer that he could turn black into white.
These three had elaborated old Major's teachings into a complete system of thought, to which they gave the name of Animalism. Several nights a week, after Mr. Jones was asleep, they held secret meetings in the barn and expounded the principles of Animalism to the others. At the beginning they met with much stupidity and apathy. Some of the animals talked of the duty of loyalty to Mr. Jones, whom they referred to as "Master," or made elementary remarks such as "Mr. Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should starve to death." Others asked such questions as "Why should we care what happens after we are dead?" or "If this Rebellion is to happen anyway, what difference does it make whether we work for it or not?", and the pigs had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The stupidest questions of all were asked by Mollie, the white mare. The very first question she asked Snowball was: "Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?"
"No," said Snowball firmly. "We have no means of making sugar on this farm. Besides, you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want."
"And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?" asked Mollie.
"Comrade," said Snowball, "those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons? "
Mollie agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.
The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven. Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.
Their most faithful disciples were the two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover. These two had great difficulty in thinking anything out for themselves, but having once accepted the pigs as their teachers, they absorbed everything that they were told, and passed it on to the other animals by simple arguments. They were unfailing in their attendance at the secret meetings in the barn, and led the singing of Beasts of England, with which the meetings always ended.
Now, as it turned out, the Rebellion was achieved much earlier and more easily than anyone had expected. In past years Mr. Jones, although a hard master, had been a capable farmer, but of late he had fallen on evil days. He had become much disheartened after losing money in a lawsuit, and had taken to drinking more than was good for him. For whole days at a time he would lounge in his Windsor chair in the kitchen, reading the newspapers, drinking, and occasionally feeding Moses on crusts of bread soaked in beer. His men were idle and dishonest, the fields were full of weeds, the buildings wanted roofing, the hedges were neglected, and the animals were underfed.
June came and the hay was almost ready for cutting. On Midsummer's Eve, which was a Saturday, Mr. Jones went into Willingdon and got so drunk at the Red Lion that he did not come back till midday on Sunday. The men had milked the cows in the early morning and then had gone out rabbiting, without bothering to feed the animals. When Mr. Jones got back he immediately went to sleep on the drawing-room sofa with the News of the World over his face, so that when evening came, the animals were still unfed. At last they could stand it no longer. 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. It was just then that Mr. Jones woke up. The next moment he and his four men were in the store-shed with whips in their hands, lashing out in all directions. This was more than the hungry animals could bear. With one accord, though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand, they flung themselves upon their tormentors. Jones and his men suddenly found themselves being butted and kicked from all sides. The situation was quite out of their control. They had never seen animals behave like this before, and this sudden uprising of creatures whom they were used to thrashing and maltreating just as they chose, frightened them almost out of their wits. After only a moment or two they gave up trying to defend themselves and took to their heels. A minute later all five of them were in full flight down the cart-track that led to the main road, with the animals pursuing them in triumph.
Mrs. Jones looked out of the bedroom window, saw what was happening, hurriedly flung a few possessions into a carpet bag, and slipped out of the farm by another way. Moses sprang off his perch and flapped after her, croaking loudly. Meanwhile the animals had chased Jones and his men out on to the road and slammed the five-barred gate behind them. And so, almost before they knew what was happening, the Rebellion had been successfully carried through: Jones was expelled, and the Manor Farm was theirs.
For the first few minutes the animals could hardly believe in their good fortune. Their first act was to gallop in a body right round the boundaries of the farm, as though to make quite sure that no human being was hiding anywhere upon it; then they raced back to the farm buildings to wipe out the last traces of Jones's hated reign. The harness-room at the end of the stables was broken open; the bits, the nose-rings, the dog-chains, the cruel knives with which Mr. Jones had been used to castrate the pigs and lambs, were all flung down the well. The reins, the halters, the blinkers, the degrading nosebags, were thrown on to the rubbish fire which was burning in the yard. So were the whips. All the animals capered with joy when they saw the whips going up in flames. Snowball also threw on to the fire the ribbons with which the horses' manes and tails had usually been decorated on market days.
"Ribbons," he said, "should be considered as clothes, which are the mark of a human being. All animals should go naked."
When Boxer heard this he fetched the small straw hat which he wore in summer to keep the flies out of his ears, and flung it on to the fire with the rest.
In a very little while the animals had destroyed everything that reminded them of Mr. Jones. Napoleon then led them back to the store-shed and served out a double ration of corn to everybody, with two biscuits for each dog. Then they sang Beasts of England from end to end seven times running, and after that they settled down for the night and slept as they had never slept before.
But they woke at dawn as usual, and suddenly remembering the glorious thing that had happened, they all raced out into the pasture together. A little way down the pasture there was a knoll that commanded a view of most of the farm. The animals rushed to the top of it and gazed round them in the clear morning light. Yes, it was theirs-everything that they could see was theirs! In the ecstasy of that thought they gambolled round and round, they hurled themselves into the air in great leaps of excitement. They rolled in the dew, they cropped mouthfuls of the sweet summer grass, they kicked up clods of the black earth and snuffed its rich scent. Then they made a tour of inspection of the whole farm and surveyed with speechless admiration the ploughland, the hayfield, the orchard, the pool, the spinney. It was as though they had never seen these things before, and even now they could hardly believe that it was all their own.
Then they filed back to the farm buildings and halted in silence outside the door of the farmhouse. That was theirs too, but they were frightened to go inside. After a moment, however, Snowball and Napoleon butted the door open with their shoulders and the animals entered in single file, walking with the utmost care for fear of disturbing anything. They tiptoed from room to room, afraid to speak above a whisper and gazing with a kind of awe at the unbelievable luxury, at the beds with their feather mattresses, the looking-glasses, the horsehair sofa, the Brussels carpet, the lithograph of Queen Victoria over the drawing-room mantelpiece. They were lust coming down the stairs when Mollie was discovered to be missing. Going back, the others found that she had remained behind in the best bedroom. She had taken a piece of blue ribbon from Mrs. Jones's dressing-table, and was holding it against her shoulder and admiring herself in the glass in a very foolish manner. The others reproached her sharply, and they went outside. Some hams hanging in the kitchen were taken out for burial, and the barrel of beer in the scullery was stove in with a kick from Boxer's hoof,-otherwise nothing in the house was touched. A unanimous resolution was passed on the spot that the farmhouse should be preserved as a museum. All were agreed that no animal must ever live there.
The animals had their breakfast, and then Snowball and Napoleon called them together again.
"Comrades," said Snowball, "it is half-past six and we have a long day before us. Today we begin the hay harvest. But there is another matter that must be attended to first."
The pigs now revealed that during the past three months they had taught themselves to read and write from an old spelling book which had belonged to Mr. Jones's children and which had been thrown on the rubbish heap. Napoleon sent for pots of black and white paint and led the way down to the five-barred gate that gave on to the main road. Then Snowball (for it was Snowball who was best at writing) took a brush between the two knuckles of his trotter, painted out MANOR FARM from the top bar of the gate and in its place painted ANIMAL FARM. This was to be the name of the farm from now onwards. After this they went back to the farm buildings, where Snowball and Napoleon sent for a ladder which they caused to be set against the end wall of the big barn. They explained that by their studies of the past three months the pigs had succeeded in reducing the principles of Animalism to Seven Commandments. These Seven Commandments would now be inscribed on the wall; they would form an unalterable law by which all the animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after. With some difficulty (for it is not easy for a pig to balance himself on a ladder) Snowball climbed up and set to work, with Squealer a few rungs below him holding the paint-pot. The Commandments were written on the tarred wall in great white letters that could be read thirty yards away. They ran thus:
THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.
It was very neatly written, and except that "friend" was written "freind" and one of the "S's" was the wrong way round, the spelling was correct all the way through. Snowball read it aloud for the benefit of the others. All the animals nodded in complete agreement, and the cleverer ones at once began to learn the Commandments by heart.
"Now, comrades," cried Snowball, throwing down the paint-brush, "to the hayfield! Let us make it a point of honour to get in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men could do."
But at this moment the three cows, who had seemed uneasy for some time past, set up a loud lowing. They had not been milked for twenty-four hours, and their udders were almost bursting. After a little thought, the pigs sent for buckets and milked the cows fairly successfully, their trotters being well adapted to this task. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk at which many of the animals looked with considerable interest.
"What is going to happen to all that milk?" said someone.
"Jones used sometimes to mix some of it in our mash," said one of the hens.
"Never mind the milk, comrades!" cried Napoleon, placing himself in front of the buckets. "That will be attended to. The harvest is more important. Comrade Snowball will lead the way. I shall follow in a few minutes. Forward, comrades! The hay is waiting."
So the animals trooped down to the hayfield to begin the harvest, and when they came back in the evening it was noticed that the milk had disappeared.