I

1Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes. 2With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the back door, drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring.

3As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. 4Word 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. 5It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. 6Old 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.

7At 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. 8He 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. 9Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. 10First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. 11The 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. 12The 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. 13Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. 14Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. 15A 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. 16After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin, the donkey. 17Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. 18He 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. 19Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed. 20If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. 21Nevertheless, 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.

22The 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. 23Clover made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklings nestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. 24At 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. 25She took a place near the front and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with. 26Last 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.

27All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. 28When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began:

29"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. 30But I will come to the dream later. 31I have something else to say first. 32I 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. 33I 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. 34It is about this that I wish to speak to you.

35"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? 36Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. 37We 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. 38No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. 39No animal in England is free. 40The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.

41"But is this simply part of the order of nature? 42Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? 43No, comrades, a thousand times no! 44The 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. 45This 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. 46Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? 47Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. 48There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. 49It is summed up in a single word–Man. 50Man is the only real enemy we have. 51Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.

52"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. 53He 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. 54Yet he is lord of all the animals. 55He 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. 56Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. 57You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? 58And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? 59Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. 60And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? 61The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. 62And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? 63Each was sold at a year old–you will never see one of them again. 64In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?

65"And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. 66For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. 67I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. 68Such is the natural life of a pig. 69But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. 70You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. 71To that horror we all must come–cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. 72Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. 73You, 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. 74As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.

75"Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? 76Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. 77Almost overnight we could become rich and free. 78What then must we do? 79Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! 80That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! 81I 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. 82Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! 83And 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.

84"And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. 85No argument must lead you astray. 86Never 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. 87It is all lies. 88Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. 89And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. 90All men are enemies. 91All animals are comrades."

92At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. 93While Major was speaking four large rats had crept out of their holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. 94The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. 95Major raised his trotter for silence.

96"Comrades," he said, "here is a point that must be settled. 97The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits–are they our friends or our enemies? 98Let us put it to the vote. 99I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?"

100The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. 101There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides. 102Major continued:

103"I have little more to say. 104I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. 105Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. 106Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. 107And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. 108Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. 109No 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. 110All the habits of Man are evil. 111And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. 112Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. 113No animal must ever kill any other animal. 114All animals are equal.

115"And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. 116I cannot describe that dream to you. 117It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. 118But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. 119Many 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. 120I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind. 121Last night, however, it came back to me in my dream. 122And 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. 123I will sing you that song now, comrades. 124I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. 125It is called Beasts of England."

126Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. 127As he had said, his voice was hoarse, but he sang well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. 128The words ran:

129Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,

130Beasts of every land and clime,

131Hearken to my joyful tidings

132Of the golden future time.

133Soon or late the day is coming,

134Tyrant Man shall be o'erthrown,

135And the fruitful fields of England

136Shall be trod by beasts alone.

137Rings shall vanish from our noses,

138And the harness from our back,

139Bit and spur shall rust forever,

140Cruel whips no more shall crack.

141Riches more than mind can picture,

142Wheat and barley, oats and hay,

143Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels

144Shall be ours upon that day.

145Bright will shine the fields of England,

146Purer shall its waters be,

147Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes

148On the day that sets us free.

149For that day we all must labour,

150Though we die before it break;

151Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,

152All must toil for freedom's sake.

153Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,

154Beasts of every land and clime,

155Hearken well and spread my tidings

156Of the golden future time.

157The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. 158Almost before Major had reached the end, they had begun singing it for themselves. 159Even 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. 160And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into Beasts of England in tremendous unison. 161The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. 162They 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.

163Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr. Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a fox in the yard. 164He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. 165The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly. 166Everyone fled to his own sleeping-place. 167The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment.