III

1How they toiled and sweated to get the hay in! 2But their efforts were rewarded, for the harvest was an even bigger success than they had hoped.

3Sometimes the work was hard; the implements had been designed for human beings and not for animals, and it was a great drawback that no animal was able to use any tool that involved standing on his hind legs. 4But the pigs were so clever that they could think of a way round every difficulty. 5As for the horses, they knew every inch of the field, and in fact understood the business of mowing and raking far better than Jones and his men had ever done. 6The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. 7With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership. 8Boxer and Clover would harness themselves to the cutter or the horse-rake (no bits or reins were needed in these days, of course) and tramp steadily round and round the field with a pig walking behind and calling out "Gee up, comrade!" 9or "Whoa back, comrade!" 10as the case might be. 11And every animal down to the humblest worked at turning the hay and gathering it. 12Even the ducks and hens toiled to and fro all day in the sun, carrying tiny wisps of hay in their beaks. 13In the end they finished the harvest in two days' less time than it had usually taken Jones and his men. 14Moreover, it was the biggest harvest that the farm had ever seen. 15There was no wastage whatever; the hens and ducks with their sharp eyes had gathered up the very last stalk. 16And not an animal on the farm had stolen so much as a mouthful.

17All through that summer the work of the farm went like clockwork. 18The animals were happy as they had never conceived it possible to be. 19Every mouthful of food was an acute positive pleasure, now that it was truly their own food, produced by themselves and for themselves, not doled out to them by a grudging master. 20With the worthless parasitical human beings gone, there was more for everyone to eat. 21There was more leisure too, inexperienced though the animals were. 22They met with many difficulties–for instance, later in the year, when they harvested the corn, they had to tread it out in the ancient style and blow away the chaff with their breath, since the farm possessed no threshing machine–but the pigs with their cleverness and Boxer with his tremendous muscles always pulled them through. 23Boxer was the admiration of everybody. 24He had been a hard worker even in Jones's time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one; there were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his mighty shoulders. 25From morning to night he was pushing and pulling, always at the spot where the work was hardest. 26He had made an arrangement with one of the cockerels to call him in the mornings half an hour earlier than anyone else, and would put in some volunteer labour at whatever seemed to be most needed, before the regular day's work began. 27His answer to every problem, every setback, was "I will work harder!"–which he had adopted as his personal motto.

28But everyone worked according to his capacity The hens and ducks, for instance, saved five bushels of corn at the harvest by gathering up the stray grains. 29Nobody stole, nobody grumbled over his rations, the quarrelling and biting and jealousy which had been normal features of life in the old days had almost disappeared. 30Nobody shirked–or almost nobody. 31Mollie, it was true, was not good at getting up in the mornings, and had a way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a stone in her hoof. 32And the behaviour of the cat was somewhat peculiar. 33It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found. 34She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as though nothing had happened. 35But she always made such excellent excuses, and purred so affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions. 36Old Benjamin, the donkey, seemed quite unchanged since the Rebellion. 37He did his work in the same slow obstinate way as he had done it in Jones's time, never shirking and never volunteering for extra work either. 38About the Rebellion and its results he would express no opinion. 39When asked whether he was not happier now that Jones was gone, he would say only "Donkeys live a long time. 40None of you has ever seen a dead donkey," and the others had to be content with this cryptic answer.

41On Sundays there was no work. 42Breakfast was an hour later than usual, and after breakfast there was a ceremony which was observed every week without fail. 43First came the hoisting of the flag. 44Snowball had found in the harness-room an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Jones's and had painted on it a hoof and a horn in white. 45This was run up the flagstaff in the farmhouse garden every Sunday morning. 46The flag was green, Snowball explained, to represent the green fields of England, while the hoof and horn signified the future Republic of the Animals which would arise when the human race had been finally overthrown. 47After the hoisting of the flag all the animals trooped into the big barn for a general assembly which was known as the Meeting. 48Here the work of the coming week was planned out and resolutions were put forward and debated. 49It was always the pigs who put forward the resolutions. 50The other animals understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions of their own. 51Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in the debates. 52But it was noticed that these two were never in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made, the other could be counted on to oppose it. 53Even when it was resolved–a thing no one could object to in itself–to set aside the small paddock behind the orchard as a home of rest for animals who were past work, there was a stormy debate over the correct retiring age for each class of animal. 54The Meeting always ended with the singing of Beasts of England, and the afternoon was given up to recreation.

55The pigs had set aside the harness-room as a headquarters for themselves. 56Here, in the evenings, they studied blacksmithing, carpentering, and other necessary arts from books which they had brought out of the farmhouse. 57Snowball also busied himself with organising the other animals into what he called Animal Committees. 58He was indefatigable at this. 59He formed the Egg Production Committee for the hens, the Clean Tails League for the cows, the Wild Comrades' Re-education Committee (the object of this was to tame the rats and rabbits), the Whiter Wool Movement for the sheep, and various others, besides instituting classes in reading and writing. 60On the whole, these projects were a failure. 61The attempt to tame the wild creatures, for instance, broke down almost immediately. 62They continued to behave very much as before, and when treated with generosity, simply took advantage of it. 63The cat joined the Re-education Committee and was very active in it for some days. 64She was seen one day sitting on a roof and talking to some sparrows who were just out of her reach. 65She was telling them that all animals were now comrades and that any sparrow who chose could come and perch on her paw; but the sparrows kept their distance.

66The reading and writing classes, however, were a great success. 67By the autumn almost every animal on the farm was literate in some degree.

68As for the pigs, they could already read and write perfectly. 69The dogs learned to read fairly well, but were not interested in reading anything except the Seven Commandments. 70Muriel, the goat, could read somewhat better than the dogs, and sometimes used to read to the others in the evenings from scraps of newspaper which she found on the rubbish heap. 71Benjamin could read as well as any pig, but never exercised his faculty. 72So far as he knew, he said, there was nothing worth reading. 73Clover learnt the whole alphabet, but could not put words together. 74Boxer could not get beyond the letter D. He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof, and then would stand staring at the letters with his ears back, sometimes shaking his forelock, trying with all his might to remember what came next and never succeeding. 75On several occasions, indeed, he did learn E, F, G, H, but by the time he knew them, it was always discovered that he had forgotten A, B, C, and 76D. 77Finally he decided to be content with the first four letters, and used to write them out once or twice every day to refresh his memory. 78Mollie refused to learn any but the six letters which spelt her own name. 79She would form these very neatly out of pieces of twig, and would then decorate them with a flower or two and walk round them admiring them.

80None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A. 81It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart. 82After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be reduced to a single maxim, namely: "Four legs good, two legs bad." 83This, he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism. 84Whoever had thoroughly grasped it would be safe from human influences. 85The birds at first objected, since it seemed to them that they also had two legs, but Snowball proved to them that this was not so.

86"A bird's wing, comrades," he said, "is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation. 87It should therefore be regarded as a leg. 88The distinguishing mark of man is the hand, the instrument with which he does all his mischief."

89The birds did not understand Snowball's long words, but they accepted his explanation, and all the humbler animals set to work to learn the new maxim by heart. 90FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD was inscribed on the end wall of the barn, above the Seven Commandments and in bigger letters When they had once got it by heart, the sheep developed a great liking for this maxim, and often as they lay in the field they would all start bleating "Four legs good, two legs bad! 91Four legs good, two legs bad!" 92and keep it up for hours on end, never growing tired of it.

93Napoleon took no interest in Snowball's committees. 94He said that the education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who were already grown up. 95It happened that Jessie and Bluebell had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to nine sturdy puppies. 96As soon as they were weaned, Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for their education. 97He took them up into a loft which could only be reached by a ladder from the harness-room, and there kept them in such seclusion that the rest of the farm soon forgot their existence.

98The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up. 99It was mixed every day into the pigs' mash. 100The early apples were now ripening, and the grass of the orchard was littered with windfalls. 101The animals had assumed as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally; one day, however, the order went forth that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs. 102At this some of the other animals murmured, but it was no use. 103All the pigs were in full agreement on this point, even Snowball and Napoleon. 104Squealer was sent to make the necessary explanations to the others.

105"Comrades!" he cried. 106"You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? 107Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. 108I dislike them myself. 109Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. 110Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. 111We pigs are brainworkers. 112The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. 113Day and night we are watching over your welfare. 114It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. 115Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? 116Jones would come back! 117Yes, Jones would come back! 118Surely, comrades," cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, "surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?"

119Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it was that they did not want Jones back. 120When it was put to them in this light, they had no more to say. 121The importance of keeping the pigs in good health was all too obvious. 122So it was agreed without further argument that the milk and the windfall apples (and also the main crop of apples when they ripened) should be reserved for the pigs alone.