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动物庄园:Chapter 2

所属教程:动物庄园

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2017年10月01日

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Three nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep. His body was buried at the foot of the orchard.

三天之后,老麦哲在安睡中平静地死去。遗体埋在苹果园脚下。

This was early in March.

这是三月初的事。

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.

从此以后的三个月里,有很多秘密活动。麦哲的演讲给庄园里那些比较聪明的动物带来了一个全新的生活观念。他们不知道麦哲预言的造反什么时候才能发生,他们也无法想象造反会在他们有生之年内到来。但他们清楚地晓得,为此作准备就是他们的责任。训导和组织其他动物的工作,自然地落在猪的身上,他们被一致认为是动物中最聪明的。而其中最杰出的是两头名叫斯诺鲍和拿破仑的雄猪,他们是琼斯先生为出售喂养的。拿破仑是头伯克夏雄猪,也是庄园中唯一的伯克夏种,个头挺大,看起来很凶,说话不多,素以固执而出名。相比之下,斯诺鲍要伶俐多了,口才好,也更有独创性,但看起来个性上没有拿破仑那么深沉。庄园里其他的猪都是肉猪。他们中最出名的是一头短小而肥胖的猪,名叫斯奎拉。他长着圆圆的面颊,炯炯闪烁的眼睛,动作敏捷,声音尖细,是个不可多得的演说家。尤其是在阐述某些艰深的论点时,他习惯于边讲解边来回不停地蹦跳,同时还甩动着尾巴。而那玩意儿不知怎么搞地就是富有蛊惑力。别的动物提到斯奎拉时,都说他能把黑的说成白的。

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?"

这三头猪把老麦哲的训导用心琢磨,推敲出一套完整的思想体系,他们称之为“动物主义”。每周总有几个夜晚,等琼斯先生入睡后,他们就在大户仓里召集秘密会议,向其他动物详细阐述动物主义的要旨。起初,他们针对的是那些迟钝和麻木的动物。这些动物中,有一些还大谈什么对琼斯先生的忠诚的义务,把他视为“主人”,提出很多浅薄的看法,比如“琼斯先生喂养我们,如果他走了,我们会饿死的”。等等。还有的问到这样的问题:“我们干嘛要关心我们死后才能发生的事情?”或者问:“如果造反注定要发生,我们干不干又有什么关系?”因而,为了教他们懂得这些说法都是与动物主义相悖离的,猪就下了很大的功夫。这愚蠢的问题是那匹白雌马莫丽提出来的,她向斯诺鲍最先问的问题是:“造反以后还有糖吗?”

"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."

“没有”,斯诺鲍坚定地说,“我们没有办法在庄园制糖,再说,你不需要糖,而你想要的燕麦和草料你都会有的”。

"And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?" asked Mollie.

“那我还能在鬃毛上扎饰带吗?”莫丽问。

"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?"

“同志”,斯诺鲍说,“那些你如此钟爱的饰带全是奴隶的标记。你难道不明白自由比饰带更有价值吗?”

Mollie agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.

莫丽同意了,但听起来并不十分肯定。

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.

猪面对的更困难的事情,是对付那只驯顺了的乌鸦摩西散布的谎言。摩西这个琼斯先生的特殊宠物,是个尖细和饶舌的家伙,还是个灵巧的说客。他声称他知道有一个叫做“蜜糖山”的神秘国度,那里是所有动物死后的归宿。它就在天空中云层上面的不远处。摩西说,在蜜糖山,每周七天,天天都是星期天,一年四季都有苜蓿,在那里,方糖和亚麻子饼就长在树篱上。动物们憎恶摩西,因为他光说闲话而不干活,但动物中也有相信蜜糖山的。所以,猪不得不竭力争辩,教动物们相信根本就不存在那么一个地方。

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.

他们最忠实的追随者是那两匹套货车的马,鲍克瑟和克拉弗。对他们俩来说,靠自己想通任何问题都很困难。而一旦把猪认作他们的导师,他们便吸取了猪教给他们的一切东西,还通过一些简单的讨论把这些道理传授给其他的动物。大谷仓中的秘密会议,他们也从不缺席。每当会议结束要唱那首“英格兰兽”时,也由他们带头唱起。

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.

这一阵子,就结果而言,造反之事比任何一个动物所预期的都要来得更早也更顺利。在过去数年间,琼斯先生尽管是个冷酷的主人,但不失为一位能干的庄园主,可是近来,他正处于背运的时候,打官司中赔了钱,他更沮丧沉沦,于是拼命地喝酒。有一阵子,他整日呆在厨房里,懒洋洋地坐在他的温莎椅上,翻看着报纸,喝着酒,偶尔把干面包片在啤酒里沾一下喂给摩西。他的伙计们也无所事事,这不守职。田地里长满了野草,窝棚顶棚也漏了,树篱无人照管,动物们饥肠辘辘。

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.

六月,眼看到了收割牧草的时节。在施洗约翰节的前夕,那一天是星期六,琼斯先生去了威灵顿,在雷德兰喝了个烂醉,直到第二天,也就是星期天的正午时分才赶回来。他的伙计们一大早挤完牛奶,就跑出去打兔子了,没有操心给动物添加草料。而琼斯先生一回来,就在客厅里拿了一张《世界新闻》报盖在脸上,在沙发上睡着了。所以一直到晚上,动物们还没有给喂过。他们终于忍受不住了,有一头母牛用角撞开了贮藏棚的门,于是,所有的动物一拥而上,自顾自地从饲料箱里抢东西。就在此刻,琼斯先生醒了。不一会儿,他和他的四个伙计手里拿着鞭子出现在贮藏棚,上来就四处乱打一气。饥饿的动物哪里还受到了这个,尽管毫无任何预谋,但都不约而同地,猛地扑向这些折磨他们的主人。琼斯先生一伙忽然发现他们自己正处在四面被围之中。被犄角抵,被蹄子踢,形势完全失去了控制。他们从前还没有见到动物这样的举动,他们曾经是怎样随心所欲的鞭笞和虐待这一群畜牲!而这群畜牲们的突然暴动吓得他们几乎不知所措。转眼工夫,他们放弃自卫,拔腿便逃。又过了个把分钟,在动物们势如破竹的追赶下,他们五个人沿着通往大路的车道仓皇败逃。

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.

琼斯夫人在卧室中看到窗外发生的一切,匆忙拆些细软塞进一个毛毡手提包里,从另一条路上溜出了庄园。摩西从他的架子上跳起来,扑扑腾腾地尾随着琼斯夫人,呱呱地大声叫着。这时,动物们已经把琼斯一伙赶到外面的大路上,然后砰地一声关上五栅门。就这样,在他们几乎还没有反应过来时,造反已经完全成功了:琼斯被驱逐了,曼纳庄园成了他们自己的。

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.

起初,有好大一会,动物们简直不敢相信他们的好运气。他们做的第一件事就是沿着庄园奔驰着绕了一圈,仿佛是要彻底证实一下再也没有人藏在庄园里了。接着,又奔回窝棚中,把那些属于可憎的琼斯统治的最后印迹消除掉。马厩端头的农具棚被砸开了,嚼子、鼻环、狗用的项圈,以及琼斯先生过去常为阉猪、阉羊用的残酷的刀子,统统给丢进井里。缰绳、笼头、眼罩和可耻的挂在马脖子上的草料袋,全都与垃圾一起堆到院中,一把火烧了。鞭子更不例外。动物们眼看着鞭子在火焰中烧起,他们全都兴高采烈的欢呼雀跃起来。斯诺鲍还把饰带也扔进火里,那些饰带是过去常在赶集时扎在马鬃和马尾上用的。

"Ribbons," he said, "should be considered as clothes, which are the mark of a human being. All animals should go naked."

“饰带”,他说道,“应该视同衣服,这是人类的标记。所有的动物都应该一丝不挂”。

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.

鲍克瑟听到这里,便把他夏天戴的一顶小草帽也拿出来,这顶草帽本来是防止蝇虫钻入耳朵才戴的,他也把它和别的东西一道扔进了人火中。

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.

不大一会儿,动物们便把所有能引起他们联想到琼斯先生的东西全毁完了。然后,拿破仑率领他们回到贮藏棚里,给他们分发了双份玉米,给狗发了双份饼干。接着,他们从头至尾把“英格兰兽”唱了七遍。然后安顿下来,而且美美睡了一夜,好象他们还从来没有睡过觉似的。

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.

但他们还是照常在黎明时醒来,转念想起已经发生了那么了不起的事情,他们全都跑出来,一起冲向大牧场。通向牧场的小路上,有一座小山包,在那里,可以一览整个庄园的大部分景色。动物们冲到小山包顶上,在清新的晨曦中四下注视。是的,这是他们的——他们目光所及的每一件东西都是他们的!在这个念头带来的狂喜中,他们兜着圈子跳呀、蹦呀,在喷涌而来的极度激动中,他们猛地蹦到空中。他们在露水上打滚,咀嚼几口甜润的夏草;他们踢开黑黝黝的田土,使劲吮吸那泥块中浓郁的香味。然后,他们巡视庄园一周,在无声的赞叹中查看了耕地、牧场、果树园、池塘和树丛。仿佛他们以前还从没有见到过这些东西似的。而且,就是在这个时刻,他们还是不敢相信这些都是他们自己的。

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.

后来,他们列队向庄园的窝棚走去,在庄主院门外静静地站住了。这也是他们的,可是,他们却惶恐得不敢进去。过一会儿,斯诺鲍和拿破仑用肩撞开门,动物们才鱼贯而入,他们小心翼翼地走着,生怕弄乱了什么。他们踮起蹄子尖一个屋接一个屋地走过,连比耳语大一点的声音都不敢吱一下,出于一种敬畏,目不转睛地盯着这难以置信的奢华,盯着镜子、马鬃沙发和那些用他们的羽绒制成的床铺,还有布鲁塞尔毛圈地毯,以及放在客厅壁炉台上的维多利亚女王的平版肖像。当他们拾级而下时,发现莫丽不见了。再折身回去,才见她呆在后面一间最好的卧室里。她在琼斯夫人的梳妆台上拿了一条蓝饰带,傻下唧唧地在镜子前面贴着肩臭美起来。在大家严厉的斥责下,她这才又走了出来。挂在厨房里的一些火腿也给拿出去埋了,洗碗间的啤酒桶被鲍克瑟踢了个洞。除此之外,房屋里任何其他东西都没有动过。在庄主院现场一致通过了一项决议:庄主院应保存起来作为博物馆。大家全都赞成:任何动物都不得在次居住。

The animals had their breakfast, and then Snowball and Napoleon called them together again.

动物们用完早餐,斯诺鲍和拿破仑再次召集起他们。

"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."

“同志们”,斯诺鲍说道,“现在是六点半,下面还有整整一天。今天我们开始收割牧草,不过,还有另外一件事情得先商量一下”。

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:

这时,大家才知道猪在过去的三个月中,从一本旧的拼读书本上自学了阅读和书写。那本书曾是琼斯先生的孩子的,早先被扔到垃圾堆里。拿破仑叫拿来几桶黑漆和白漆,带领大家来到朝着大路的五栅门。接着,斯诺鲍(正是他才最擅长书写)用蹄子的双趾捏起一支刷子,涂掉了栅栏顶的木牌上的“曼纳庄园”几个字,又在那上面写上“动物庄园”。这就是庄园以后的名字。写完后,他们又回到窝棚那里,斯诺鲍和拿破仑又叫拿来一架梯子,并让把梯子支在大谷仓的墙头。他们解释说,经过过去三个月的研讨,他们已经成功地把动物主义的原则简化为“七戒”,这“七戒”将要题写在墙上,它们将成为不可更改的法律,所有动物庄园的动物都必须永远遵循它生活。斯诺鲍好不容易才爬了上去(因为猪不易的梯子上保持平衡)并开始忙乎起来,斯奎拉在比他低几格的地方端着油漆桶。在刷过柏油的墙上,用巨大的字体写着“七诫”。字是白色的,在三十码以外清晰可辨。它们是这样写的:

THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS

七  诫

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

1. 凡靠两条腿行走者皆为仇敌;

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

2. 凡靠四肢行走者,或者长翅膀者,皆为亲友;

3. No animal shall wear clothes.

3. 任何动物不得着衣;

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.

4. 任何动物不得卧床;

5. No animal shall drink alcohol.

5. 任何动物不得饮酒;

6. No animal shall kill any other animal.

6. 任何动物不得伤害其他动物;

7. All animals are equal.

7. 所有动物一律平等。

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.

写得十分潇洒,除了把亲友“friend”写成了“freind”,以及其中有一处“S”写反之外,全部拼写得很正确。斯诺鲍大声念给别的动物听,所有在场的动物都频频点头,表示完全赞同。较为聪明一些的动物立即开始背诵起来。

"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."

“现在,同志们”,斯诺鲍扔下油漆刷子说道,“到牧场上去!我们要争口气,要比琼斯他们一伙人更快地收完牧草”。

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.

就在这时刻,早已有好大一会显得很不自在的三头母牛发出振耳的哞哞声。已经二十四小时没有给她们挤奶了。她们的奶子快要胀破了。猪稍一寻思,让取来奶桶,相当成功地给母牛挤了奶,他们的蹄子十分适于干这个活。很快,就挤满了五桶冒着沫的乳白色牛奶,许多动物津津有味地瞧着奶桶中的奶。

"What is going to happen to all that milk?" said someone.

“这些牛奶可怎么办呢?”有一个动物问答。

"Jones used sometimes to mix some of it in our mash," said one of the hens.

“琼斯先生过去常常给我们的谷糠饲料中掺一些牛奶”,有只母鸡说道。

"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."

“别理会牛奶了,同志们!”站在奶桶前的拿破仑大声喊道,“牛奶会给照看好的,收割牧草才更重了,斯诺鲍同志领你们去,我随后就来。前进,同志们!牧草在等待着!”

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.

于是,动物们成群结队地走向大牧场,开始了收割。当他们晚上收工回来的时候,大家注意的:牛奶已经不见了。


Three nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep. His body was buried at the foot of the orchard.

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.


三天之后,老麦哲在安睡中平静地死去。遗体埋在苹果园脚下。

这是三月初的事。

从此以后的三个月里,有很多秘密活动。麦哲的演讲给庄园里那些比较聪明的动物带来了一个全新的生活观念。他们不知道麦哲预言的造反什么时候才能发生,他们也无法想象造反会在他们有生之年内到来。但他们清楚地晓得,为此作准备就是他们的责任。训导和组织其他动物的工作,自然地落在猪的身上,他们被一致认为是动物中最聪明的。而其中最杰出的是两头名叫斯诺鲍和拿破仑的雄猪,他们是琼斯先生为出售喂养的。拿破仑是头伯克夏雄猪,也是庄园中唯一的伯克夏种,个头挺大,看起来很凶,说话不多,素以固执而出名。相比之下,斯诺鲍要伶俐多了,口才好,也更有独创性,但看起来个性上没有拿破仑那么深沉。庄园里其他的猪都是肉猪。他们中最出名的是一头短小而肥胖的猪,名叫斯奎拉。他长着圆圆的面颊,炯炯闪烁的眼睛,动作敏捷,声音尖细,是个不可多得的演说家。尤其是在阐述某些艰深的论点时,他习惯于边讲解边来回不停地蹦跳,同时还甩动着尾巴。而那玩意儿不知怎么搞地就是富有蛊惑力。别的动物提到斯奎拉时,都说他能把黑的说成白的。

这三头猪把老麦哲的训导用心琢磨,推敲出一套完整的思想体系,他们称之为“动物主义”。每周总有几个夜晚,等琼斯先生入睡后,他们就在大户仓里召集秘密会议,向其他动物详细阐述动物主义的要旨。起初,他们针对的是那些迟钝和麻木的动物。这些动物中,有一些还大谈什么对琼斯先生的忠诚的义务,把他视为“主人”,提出很多浅薄的看法,比如“琼斯先生喂养我们,如果他走了,我们会饿死的”。等等。还有的问到这样的问题:“我们干嘛要关心我们死后才能发生的事情?”或者问:“如果造反注定要发生,我们干不干又有什么关系?”因而,为了教他们懂得这些说法都是与动物主义相悖离的,猪就下了很大的功夫。这愚蠢的问题是那匹白雌马莫丽提出来的,她向斯诺鲍最先问的问题是:“造反以后还有糖吗?”

“没有”,斯诺鲍坚定地说,“我们没有办法在庄园制糖,再说,你不需要糖,而你想要的燕麦和草料你都会有的”。

“那我还能在鬃毛上扎饰带吗?”莫丽问。

“同志”,斯诺鲍说,“那些你如此钟爱的饰带全是奴隶的标记。你难道不明白自由比饰带更有价值吗?”

莫丽同意了,但听起来并不十分肯定。

猪面对的更困难的事情,是对付那只驯顺了的乌鸦摩西散布的谎言。摩西这个琼斯先生的特殊宠物,是个尖细和饶舌的家伙,还是个灵巧的说客。他声称他知道有一个叫做“蜜糖山”的神秘国度,那里是所有动物死后的归宿。它就在天空中云层上面的不远处。摩西说,在蜜糖山,每周七天,天天都是星期天,一年四季都有苜蓿,在那里,方糖和亚麻子饼就长在树篱上。动物们憎恶摩西,因为他光说闲话而不干活,但动物中也有相信蜜糖山的。所以,猪不得不竭力争辩,教动物们相信根本就不存在那么一个地方。

他们最忠实的追随者是那两匹套货车的马,鲍克瑟和克拉弗。对他们俩来说,靠自己想通任何问题都很困难。而一旦把猪认作他们的导师,他们便吸取了猪教给他们的一切东西,还通过一些简单的讨论把这些道理传授给其他的动物。大谷仓中的秘密会议,他们也从不缺席。每当会议结束要唱那首“英格兰兽”时,也由他们带头唱起。

这一阵子,就结果而言,造反之事比任何一个动物所预期的都要来得更早也更顺利。在过去数年间,琼斯先生尽管是个冷酷的主人,但不失为一位能干的庄园主,可是近来,他正处于背运的时候,打官司中赔了钱,他更沮丧沉沦,于是拼命地喝酒。有一阵子,他整日呆在厨房里,懒洋洋地坐在他的温莎椅上,翻看着报纸,喝着酒,偶尔把干面包片在啤酒里沾一下喂给摩西。他的伙计们也无所事事,这不守职。田地里长满了野草,窝棚顶棚也漏了,树篱无人照管,动物们饥肠辘辘。

六月,眼看到了收割牧草的时节。在施洗约翰节的前夕,那一天是星期六,琼斯先生去了威灵顿,在雷德兰喝了个烂醉,直到第二天,也就是星期天的正午时分才赶回来。他的伙计们一大早挤完牛奶,就跑出去打兔子了,没有操心给动物添加草料。而琼斯先生一回来,就在客厅里拿了一张《世界新闻》报盖在脸上,在沙发上睡着了。所以一直到晚上,动物们还没有给喂过。他们终于忍受不住了,有一头母牛用角撞开了贮藏棚的门,于是,所有的动物一拥而上,自顾自地从饲料箱里抢东西。就在此刻,琼斯先生醒了。不一会儿,他和他的四个伙计手里拿着鞭子出现在贮藏棚,上来就四处乱打一气。饥饿的动物哪里还受到了这个,尽管毫无任何预谋,但都不约而同地,猛地扑向这些折磨他们的主人。琼斯先生一伙忽然发现他们自己正处在四面被围之中。被犄角抵,被蹄子踢,形势完全失去了控制。他们从前还没有见到动物这样的举动,他们曾经是怎样随心所欲的鞭笞和虐待这一群畜牲!而这群畜牲们的突然暴动吓得他们几乎不知所措。转眼工夫,他们放弃自卫,拔腿便逃。又过了个把分钟,在动物们势如破竹的追赶下,他们五个人沿着通往大路的车道仓皇败逃。

琼斯夫人在卧室中看到窗外发生的一切,匆忙拆些细软塞进一个毛毡手提包里,从另一条路上溜出了庄园。摩西从他的架子上跳起来,扑扑腾腾地尾随着琼斯夫人,呱呱地大声叫着。这时,动物们已经把琼斯一伙赶到外面的大路上,然后砰地一声关上五栅门。就这样,在他们几乎还没有反应过来时,造反已经完全成功了:琼斯被驱逐了,曼纳庄园成了他们自己的。

起初,有好大一会,动物们简直不敢相信他们的好运气。他们做的第一件事就是沿着庄园奔驰着绕了一圈,仿佛是要彻底证实一下再也没有人藏在庄园里了。接着,又奔回窝棚中,把那些属于可憎的琼斯统治的最后印迹消除掉。马厩端头的农具棚被砸开了,嚼子、鼻环、狗用的项圈,以及琼斯先生过去常为阉猪、阉羊用的残酷的刀子,统统给丢进井里。缰绳、笼头、眼罩和可耻的挂在马脖子上的草料袋,全都与垃圾一起堆到院中,一把火烧了。鞭子更不例外。动物们眼看着鞭子在火焰中烧起,他们全都兴高采烈的欢呼雀跃起来。斯诺鲍还把饰带也扔进火里,那些饰带是过去常在赶集时扎在马鬃和马尾上用的。

“饰带”,他说道,“应该视同衣服,这是人类的标记。所有的动物都应该一丝不挂”。

鲍克瑟听到这里,便把他夏天戴的一顶小草帽也拿出来,这顶草帽本来是防止蝇虫钻入耳朵才戴的,他也把它和别的东西一道扔进了人火中。

不大一会儿,动物们便把所有能引起他们联想到琼斯先生的东西全毁完了。然后,拿破仑率领他们回到贮藏棚里,给他们分发了双份玉米,给狗发了双份饼干。接着,他们从头至尾把“英格兰兽”唱了七遍。然后安顿下来,而且美美睡了一夜,好象他们还从来没有睡过觉似的。

但他们还是照常在黎明时醒来,转念想起已经发生了那么了不起的事情,他们全都跑出来,一起冲向大牧场。通向牧场的小路上,有一座小山包,在那里,可以一览整个庄园的大部分景色。动物们冲到小山包顶上,在清新的晨曦中四下注视。是的,这是他们的——他们目光所及的每一件东西都是他们的!在这个念头带来的狂喜中,他们兜着圈子跳呀、蹦呀,在喷涌而来的极度激动中,他们猛地蹦到空中。他们在露水上打滚,咀嚼几口甜润的夏草;他们踢开黑黝黝的田土,使劲吮吸那泥块中浓郁的香味。然后,他们巡视庄园一周,在无声的赞叹中查看了耕地、牧场、果树园、池塘和树丛。仿佛他们以前还从没有见到过这些东西似的。而且,就是在这个时刻,他们还是不敢相信这些都是他们自己的。

后来,他们列队向庄园的窝棚走去,在庄主院门外静静地站住了。这也是他们的,可是,他们却惶恐得不敢进去。过一会儿,斯诺鲍和拿破仑用肩撞开门,动物们才鱼贯而入,他们小心翼翼地走着,生怕弄乱了什么。他们踮起蹄子尖一个屋接一个屋地走过,连比耳语大一点的声音都不敢吱一下,出于一种敬畏,目不转睛地盯着这难以置信的奢华,盯着镜子、马鬃沙发和那些用他们的羽绒制成的床铺,还有布鲁塞尔毛圈地毯,以及放在客厅壁炉台上的维多利亚女王的平版肖像。当他们拾级而下时,发现莫丽不见了。再折身回去,才见她呆在后面一间最好的卧室里。她在琼斯夫人的梳妆台上拿了一条蓝饰带,傻下唧唧地在镜子前面贴着肩臭美起来。在大家严厉的斥责下,她这才又走了出来。挂在厨房里的一些火腿也给拿出去埋了,洗碗间的啤酒桶被鲍克瑟踢了个洞。除此之外,房屋里任何其他东西都没有动过。在庄主院现场一致通过了一项决议:庄主院应保存起来作为博物馆。大家全都赞成:任何动物都不得在次居住。

动物们用完早餐,斯诺鲍和拿破仑再次召集起他们。

“同志们”,斯诺鲍说道,“现在是六点半,下面还有整整一天。今天我们开始收割牧草,不过,还有另外一件事情得先商量一下”。

这时,大家才知道猪在过去的三个月中,从一本旧的拼读书本上自学了阅读和书写。那本书曾是琼斯先生的孩子的,早先被扔到垃圾堆里。拿破仑叫拿来几桶黑漆和白漆,带领大家来到朝着大路的五栅门。接着,斯诺鲍(正是他才最擅长书写)用蹄子的双趾捏起一支刷子,涂掉了栅栏顶的木牌上的“曼纳庄园”几个字,又在那上面写上“动物庄园”。这就是庄园以后的名字。写完后,他们又回到窝棚那里,斯诺鲍和拿破仑又叫拿来一架梯子,并让把梯子支在大谷仓的墙头。他们解释说,经过过去三个月的研讨,他们已经成功地把动物主义的原则简化为“七戒”,这“七戒”将要题写在墙上,它们将成为不可更改的法律,所有动物庄园的动物都必须永远遵循它生活。斯诺鲍好不容易才爬了上去(因为猪不易的梯子上保持平衡)并开始忙乎起来,斯奎拉在比他低几格的地方端着油漆桶。在刷过柏油的墙上,用巨大的字体写着“七诫”。字是白色的,在三十码以外清晰可辨。它们是这样写的:

七  诫

1. 凡靠两条腿行走者皆为仇敌;

2. 凡靠四肢行走者,或者长翅膀者,皆为亲友;

3. 任何动物不得着衣;

4. 任何动物不得卧床;

5. 任何动物不得饮酒;

6. 任何动物不得伤害其他动物;

7. 所有动物一律平等。

写得十分潇洒,除了把亲友“friend”写成了“freind”,以及其中有一处“S”写反之外,全部拼写得很正确。斯诺鲍大声念给别的动物听,所有在场的动物都频频点头,表示完全赞同。较为聪明一些的动物立即开始背诵起来。

“现在,同志们”,斯诺鲍扔下油漆刷子说道,“到牧场上去!我们要争口气,要比琼斯他们一伙人更快地收完牧草”。

就在这时刻,早已有好大一会显得很不自在的三头母牛发出振耳的哞哞声。已经二十四小时没有给她们挤奶了。她们的奶子快要胀破了。猪稍一寻思,让取来奶桶,相当成功地给母牛挤了奶,他们的蹄子十分适于干这个活。很快,就挤满了五桶冒着沫的乳白色牛奶,许多动物津津有味地瞧着奶桶中的奶。

“这些牛奶可怎么办呢?”有一个动物问答。

“琼斯先生过去常常给我们的谷糠饲料中掺一些牛奶”,有只母鸡说道。

“别理会牛奶了,同志们!”站在奶桶前的拿破仑大声喊道,“牛奶会给照看好的,收割牧草才更重了,斯诺鲍同志领你们去,我随后就来。前进,同志们!牧草在等待着!”

于是,动物们成群结队地走向大牧场,开始了收割。当他们晚上收工回来的时候,大家注意的:牛奶已经不见了。

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