Kitabı oku: «Скотный двор / Animal Farm», sayfa 5

They went back and found that she was in the best bedroom. She took 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. The animals took some hams from the kitchen to bury them. Boxer’s hoof kicked the barrel of beer in the scullery. They did not touch anything in the house. The farmhouse will be 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.»

The pigs now revealed that during the past three months they were teaching themselves to read and write from an old book which belonged to Mr. Jones’s children. Napoleon sent for pots of black and white paint and led the way down to the gate. Then Snowball (Snowball was the best writer) 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 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. They set it against the end wall of the big barn. They explained that by their studies of the past three months the pigs reduced the principles of Animalism to Seven Commandments. These Seven Commandments will now be inscribed on the wall. They will 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. Squealer was holding thepaint-pot¹². The Commandments were written on the tarred wall in great white letters. They ran thus:

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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.

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It was very neatly written, and except that «friend» was written «freind» and one of the «S’s»was the wrong way round¹³, the spelling was correct. 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 get in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men could do.»

But at this moment the three cows, who seemed uneasy, began to moo. They were not milked for twenty-four hours, and their udders were almost bursting. After a little thought, the pigs sent for buckets and milked the cows successfully. Their trotters were well adapted to this task. Soon there were five buckets of frothing creamy milk. Many of the animals looked at the buckets with considerable interest.

«What will happen to that milk?» said someone.

«Jones sometimes mixed 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 to¹⁴. 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 went to the hayfield to begin the harvest. When they came back in the evening the milk had disappeared.