No creature called any other creature "Master." All animals were equal.Although rejected by several publishers, when published it became a best-seller. No creature among them went upon two legs. If they went hungry, it was not from feeding tyrannical human beings if they worked hard, at least they worked for themselves. It might be that their lives were hard and that not all of their hopes had been fulfilled but they were conscious that they were not as other animals. Even the tune of Beasts of England was perhaps hummed secretly here and there: at any rate, it was a fact that every animal on the farm knew it, though no one would have dared to sing it aloud. Some day it was coming: it might not be soon, it might not be with in the lifetime of any animal now living, but still it was coming. The Republic of the Animals which Major had foretold, when the green fields of England should be untrodden by human feet, was still believed in. None of the old dreams had been abandoned. And when they heard the gun booming and saw the green flag fluttering at the masthead, their hearts swelled with imperishable pride, and the talk turned always towards the old heroic days, the expulsion of Jones, the writing of the Seven Commandments, the great battles in which the human invaders had been defeated. Not one of them, not even the youngest, not even the newcomers who had been brought from farms ten or twenty miles away, ever ceased to marvel at that. They were still the only farm in the whole county-in all England!-owned and operated by animals. More, they never lost, even for an instant, their sense of honour and privilege in being members of Animal Farm. But still, it was not for this that she and all the other animals had hoped and toiled.Īnd yet the animals never gave up hope. Whatever happened she would remain faithful, work hard, carry out the orders that were given to her, and accept the leadership of Napoleon. She knew that, even as things were, they were far better off than they had been in the days of Jones, and that before all else it was needful to prevent the return of the human beings. There was no thought of rebellion or disobedience in her mind. Instead-she did not know why-they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes. If she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak, as she had protected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night of Major's speech. These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old Major first stirred them to rebellion. If she could have spoken her thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race. And by the time the sheep had quieted down, the chance to utter any protest had passed, for the pigs had marched back into the farmhouse.Īs Clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. But just at that moment, as though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of- "Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better!" It went on for five minutes without stopping. Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened-they might have uttered some word of protest. It was as though the world had turned upside-down. Amazed, terrified, huddling together, the animals watched the long line of pigs march slowly round the yard. out from the door of the farmhouse came a long file of pigs, all walking on their hind legs.out came Napoleon himself, majestically upright, casting haughty glances from side to side, and with his dogs gambolling round him.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |