Скотный двор / Animal Farm

But when I teach you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called �Beasts of England’.»

Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. He sang well enough, and it was a wonderful tune, something between �Clementine’ and �La Cucaracha’. The words ran:

ppp

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,

Beasts of every land and clime,

Hearken to my joyful tidings

Of the golden future time.

Soon or late the day is coming,

Tyrant Man will be overthrown,

And the fruitful fields of England

Will be trod by beasts alone.

Rings will vanish from our noses,

And the harness from our back,

Bit and spur will rust forever,

Cruel whips no more will crack.

Riches more than mind can picture,

Wheat and barley, oats and hay,

Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels[6 - mangel-wurzels – кормовая свёкла]

Will be ours upon that day.

Bright will shine the fields of England,

Purer will its waters be,

Sweeter yet will blow its breezes

On the day that sets us free.

For that day we all must labour,

Though we die before it break;

Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,

All must toil for freedom’s sake.

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,

Beasts of every land and clime,

Hearken well and spread my tidings

Of the golden future time!

The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almost before Major reached the end, they began to sing it for themselves.

Even the stupidest of them picked up the tune and few words, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs, they had the entire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into �Beasts of England’ in tremendous unison. The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so delighted with the song that they sang it five times in succession.

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