Animal Farm
动物农场
Chapter 1
第一章
Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night,but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes.With 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 thescullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring.
Jones先生是庄园农场的主人，晚上他关了鸡舍准备过夜，但是喝的醉醺醺的忘了锁住小门。Jones先生提着光影晃动的马灯，蹒跚的穿过院子，来到后门踢掉靴子，从厨房的酒桶中倒了最一杯啤酒喝掉，然后上了床，Jones太太早已经打起了鼾声。
As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings.Word had gone round during the day that old Major,the prize Middle White boar, had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. Old 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 quiteready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say.
卧式的灯刚刚熄灭，整个农舍就开始骚动起来。白天有传言说Old Major昨天晚上做了个很奇怪的梦，想跟动物们谈谈，Old Major是一头中等白色获过奖的公猪。动物们都决定等Jones先生确定离开后在大谷仓里碰面。Old Major（一直被这么称呼，尽管以前参展时名字叫Willingdon Beauty。）在农场中一直备受推崇，动物们都决定少睡一个小时来听它要跟大家说些什么。
At one end of the big barn, on asort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. He 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 hadnever been cut. Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows laydown behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The 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. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. Boxer was an enormous beast,nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. A 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 powersof work. After the horses came，Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin, the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark-for instance, he would say that God had given him atail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed. If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. Nevertheless, 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 sideand never speaking.
在大谷仓一头凸起的平台上，横梁上悬挂着马灯，下边Old Major已经躺在它的稻草床上。它已经有十二岁了，最近又长肥了很多，尽管犬牙一直没被切过，但是长相聪明和善，看起来仍然是头威风凛凛的猪。不久后，动物们陆续到来，它们根据自己的情况慢慢安顿下来。首先来的是三条狗，Bluebell、Jessie和Pincher，然后是猪，坐在平台前面稻草上。母鸡栖息在窗台上，鸽子飞到梁椽上，绵羊和奶牛卧在猪的后边开始反刍。两匹驾马车的马，Boxer跟Clover一块慢慢走进来，小心翼翼的落下毛茸茸的大蹄子，以免有小动物藏在稻草中。Clover是头强壮的中年母马，生了四次马驹后体型再也恢复不到从前。Boxer是头巨大的野兽，接近18掌高，跟两匹普通的马加起来一样强壮。它鼻子下边的白条纹看起来有点蠢，事实上它虽然不是最聪明的，但是性格沉稳和强大的劳动能力让它受到大家的普遍尊重。马儿进来后，接下来是白山羊Muriel和驴子Benjamin。Benjamin是农场里最老的动物，也是脾气最差的。它很少说话，就算说也是些愤世嫉俗的话，好比它会说上帝给了它一条尾巴让它驱赶苍蝇，但是它宁愿没有尾巴跟苍蝇。在农场的动物中它都是独来独往从来没有笑过。如果你问它为什么不笑，它会说没什么可笑的。尽管这样，虽然没有公开承认过，但它是Boxer忠实的好朋友。它们俩经常在果园外的小牧场上一起度过星期天，并排放牧从不说话。
The 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. Clover made a sort of wall round them with her great foreleg, and the ducklings nestled down inside it and promptly fell asleep. At 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. She took a place near the front and began flirtingher white mane, hoping to draw attention to the red ribbons it was plaited with. Last 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.
两匹马儿刚卧下，一群没了母鸭的雏鸭就进来了，柔弱无力、四处徘徊地想找个不会被踩到的地方。Clover用它巨大的前腿像墙一样围住雏鸭们，雏鸭依偎在里边很快就睡着了。最后一刻来的是给Jones先生驾车的傻傻的白母马Mollie，它嚼着方糖块装作优雅的走进来，找了块靠前的地方开始摆动它的白鬃毛，希望大家注意到它编辫的红缎带。最后进来的是猫，它像往常一样四处找最暖和的地方，最后挤到了Boxer跟Clover中间，然后满足的发出咕噜声，在Old Major讲话的时候一个字都没有听进去。
All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began:
所有的动物都到齐了，除了被驯养的乌鸦Moses，它睡在后门后边的栖木上。Old
Major看到大家都安定下来认真的地等着，清了清嗓子开始讲话：
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, thatI 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. I 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. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.
“同志们，你们已经听说过我昨晚做了个怪梦，但是我之后再谈梦的事。我有些事要先说，同志们，我可能跟大家在一起没几个月了，在我死之前，我认为我有责任把我获得的智慧传授给你们，我已经活了很长的时间，当我独自待在畜栏的时候也思考了很长的时间，我想说我理解这片土地上的生命和所有活着的动物们的生活本质，我想跟你们讲讲这些事。”
"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable,laborious, and short. We 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. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.”
“那么同志们，什么是我们现在生活的本质呢？让我们来看看吧：我们的生活是痛苦，艰苦和短暂的。当我们被生下来，只得到很少的食物来支持身体的呼吸，有能力的都被强迫去劳动到筋疲力尽；而在我们的用途结束的一刻，就被残酷的屠杀。英格兰的动物在一岁之后根本不知道幸福或者休闲。英格兰的动物都是不自由的。动物的生活是悲惨的和被奴役的：这是显而易见的事实。”
"But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The 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. This 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. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Manfrom the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.
“但是，难道这仅仅是大自然秩序的一部分么？难道是因为我们的土地是贫瘠的，无法给住在它上面的生命提供一份体面的生活么？不，同志们，绝对不是!英格兰的土壤是肥沃的，气候是适宜的，它能够给比现在居住在这更多的动物们提供充裕的食物。仅仅我们的农场就能供养12匹马，20只奶牛和上百只绵羊，而且它们还可以生活的几乎超过我们想象的舒服和有尊严。那么为什么我们还是过着这样悲惨的生活呢？因为我们劳动的产物几乎都被人类窃取了。同志们，这就是问题的原因。总结起来就是一个词-人类。只有人类是我们真正的敌人，只要没有了人类，饥饿和过度工作的根源就能永远拔除。”
"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weakto pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lordof all the animals. He 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. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me,how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore,who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold ata year old-you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?
“只有人类是不生产就能享受的生物。他们不生产牛奶，不下蛋，他们太虚弱拉不动犁，他们也跑的不够快抓不到兔子。然而他们是动物的主人。他们让动物去劳动，只给它们不至于饿死的少量食物，然后剩下的都留给自己。我们的劳动耕耘了土壤，粪便使它肥沃，但是我们中没有动物比人类的肚皮吃到更多的食物。我前边的奶牛们，你们最近一年生产了几千加仑的牛奶呢？这些本应该用来哺育牛犊的奶都被怎么处理了呢？每滴牛奶都被我们的敌人喝了。还有母鸡们，最近一年你们产了多少的鸡蛋？又有多少鸡蛋用来孵化小鸡呢？剩下的鸡蛋都被送到商店给Jones先生和手下换了钱。还有你，Clover，你生的4只本应该在你年纪大了给你帮助和快乐的马驹去哪了？它们都在一岁的时候被卖了，你再也看不到它们了。对于你四次生育还有在这片土地劳动的回报，除了空空的食物和畜栏还得到过什么呢？”
"And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year.To that horror we all must come-cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, 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. As for the dogs,when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.
“然而总是我们过着悲惨的生活，还是不能得以善终。因为我是幸运的，所以我没有怨言，我活了12岁拥过400多个孩子，这是一头猪的自然生命。但是没有动物能够逃脱残酷的一刀。你们这些坐在我面前的年轻的小猪，一年内每头都会在街区里尖叫着结束生命。我们要面对的这残酷的事，奶牛，狗，母鸡，绵羊和所有动物。纵使马跟狗也没有好的下场。Boxer在你的肌肉不再强壮之后，Jones就会把你卖给屠夫，他会切开你的喉咙，把你煮给猎狗。至于狗，当他们老的没牙了，Jones会把它们绑块砖头扔到最近的湖里。”
"Is it not crystal clear, then,comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why,work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion willcome, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as Isee this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And 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.
“同志们，我们生活中的罪恶都源于人类的暴政，这些还不够清楚么？只有除掉人类，我们劳动的果实才能被我们所有。我们一夜之间就能变得富有和自由。那么我们接下来必须做什么呢？我们要日夜劳动，全身心的投入，为了推翻人类！这是我要告诉你们的，同志们，反抗吧！我不知道反抗什么时候会到来，或许在一周之内或者一百年之内，但是我确信就像我看见我脚下的稻草一样，正义迟早会到来的。同志们，在你们短暂的一生中，一定要把目光集中在这一点，尤其是记得要把我的话传给后辈，让后代们也进行斗争直至取得胜利。”
“同志们，要记住永远不要动摇你们的决心。没有任何观点能让你们迷途。永远不要相信人类说的动物跟人类都是为了共同繁荣的有共同的利益，这些都是谎言。人类只会为了他们自己的利益。而我们动物之间团结一致，战友情深。所有人类都是敌人，所有动物都是同胞。”
At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four large rats had crept out oftheir holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence.
这时候动物们中发生一阵躁动。原来在Old Major讲话的时候，四只大老鼠也爬出洞口坐在后腿上听着讲话。狗突然看见了老鼠，幸亏它们窜到洞里才保住一命。Old Major举起猪蹄让大家安静。
"Comrades," he said,"here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits-are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?"
“同志们，”Old Major说，“现在我们有个问题要解决。例如老鼠跟兔子这些野生动物，它们算是我们的朋友还是敌人呢？让我们来投票决定，我提议大家开会讨论这个问题：老鼠算是我们的同志么？”
The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were onlyfour dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered tohave voted on both sides.
很快进行了投票，大家绝大多数都同意老鼠是同胞。只有四票不同意，它们是三只狗和一只猫，后来还发现猫既投了同意也投了不同意。
Major continued:"I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Manand all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes uponfour legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even , do not adopt his vices.No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, ordrink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal mustever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.”
Old Major继续讲话：“我没什么可说的了，我只重复一次，永远记住要仇恨对人类和他们生活方式。任何用两条腿走路的都是敌人。任何用四条腿或者有翅膀的都是朋友。而且要记住为了反抗人类，我们一定不能像人类一样。甚至不能养出他们的恶习。禁止动物住在房子里，睡在床上，穿衣服，喝酒，抽烟，碰钱和经商。人类所有的习惯都是邪恶的。尤其是，禁止动物对同类施行暴政。无论虚弱还是强壮，聪明与否，我们都是同胞，禁止动物残杀其他动物。所有动物一律平等。”
"And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot describe that dream to you.It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. Many 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. I had known that tune in my infancy, but it had long since passed out of my mind.Last night, however, it came back to me in my dream. And 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. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called Beasts of England."
“现在，同志们，我来告诉你们我昨晚做的梦，我无法像你们描述那个梦。我梦中的是人类最终消失后的土地。但是它让我想起了已经遗忘很久的事。很多年前，当我还是小猪的时候，我妈妈跟其他母猪们总唱一首只知道旋律跟前三个单词的歌。在我小时候就知道那个旋律，但是它早就从我的脑海中消失了。昨晚，梦中回响起这个旋律。而且这首歌的歌词也背了出来，我很确定，这首歌是很久以前动物们唱的歌，已经被遗忘了很多代。我现在给你们唱这首歌，同志们，我虽然年老声音也很嘶哑，但是当我教给你们旋律，你们自己可以唱的更好，这首歌叫做英格兰之兽。”
Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice was hoarse, but he sang well enough,and it was a stirring tune, something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. The words ran:
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
joyful tidings
Of the golden future time.
Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be overthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone.
Rings shall vanish from our noses,
And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.
Riches more than mind can picture,
Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels
Shall be ours upon that day.
Bright will shine the fields of England,
Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall 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.
Old Major清了清嗓子开始唱，正如它说的，嗓子已经嘶哑，但是已经唱的够好了，这是一首振奋人心地曲子，大概风格介于Clementine和La Cucaracha之间。歌词是：
英格兰之兽，爱尔兰之兽，
所有土地和环境中的野兽，
听听我带来的好消息
关于未来的黄金世界。
迟早这天会来到，
人类的统治会被推翻，
英格兰富饶的土地
只留给野兽们踩踏。
我们鼻子上的铁环将会消失，
我们背上的马具，
钻头和马刺将会永远生锈，
起残酷的鞭打声不会再响起。
展望富饶的未来吧，
小麦和大麦，燕麦和干草，
苜蓿，豆子和甜菜，
都属于我们。
阳光会洒遍英格兰大地，
水是纯净的，
微风吹来是甜美的，
在我们自由到来的那天。
为了那天的来到我们都要劳动，
尽管我们会死在那天到来之前；
奶牛和骏马，
鹅和火鸡，
都必须为了自由而努力。
英格兰之兽，爱尔兰之兽，
所有土地和环境中的野兽，
听听我带来的好消息，
关于未来的黄金世界。
The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almost before Major had reached the end,they had begun singing it for themselves. Even 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. 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 right through five times insuccession, and might have continued singing it all night if they had not been interrupted.
这首歌让动物们兴奋不已。还没等Old Major唱完，大家就开始自己唱起来。即使最笨的也能掌握旋律唱出一些歌词，至于聪明的，比如猪跟狗们几分钟之内就已经把整首歌牢记于心。在预唱几次之后，整个农场响起整齐的英格兰之兽的旋律。奶牛低哞，狗哀嚎，绵羊咩咩，马儿嘶鸣，鸭子呱呱。大家已经高兴地合唱了五遍，如果不是被打断的话要欢唱整晚。
Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr.Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a fox in the yard. He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly. Everyone fled to his ownsleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment.
不巧的是，动物们的喧嚣声吵醒了Jones先生，他跳下床看是否有狐狸溜到了院子里。他抓起一直放在床边的枪，朝着夜色中打了发六号子弹。枪丸打到谷仓的墙中，动物们的会议仓促结束。大家赶紧逃回栖息地。鸟儿扑腾到椽子上，动物们溜回稻草里，整个农场瞬间陷入沉寂的梦乡。
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