Animal farm / Скотный двор. Уровень 2

First came the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs. They sat down in the straw in front of the platform. The hens sat on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters. The sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew the cud.

The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, came in together. They walked very slowly with great care. Clover was a stout motherly mare. Boxer was an enormous beast. He was nearly eighteen hands high, and he was as strong as two ordinary horses. A white stripe on his nose gave him a stupid appearance.

After the horses came Muriel with Benjamin. Muriel was a white goat, and Benjamin was a donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm. He seldom talked. When he talked, he usually made cynical remarks. For instance, he said:

“God gave him a tail to keep the flies off[4 - to keep the flies off – отгонять мух], but I prefer not to have the tail and the flies”.

He never laughed among the animals on the farm. He saw nothing to laugh at. Nevertheless, he was devoted to Boxer. They usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard. They grazed side by side and never spoke to each other.

The two horses lay down. After that some ducklings, which lost their mother, came into the barn. They wandered from side to side to find some place. Clover made a wall round them with her great foreleg. So the ducklings sat down inside it and promptly fell asleep.

Soon came Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones’s trap. She chewed some of sugar. She took a place near the front and began to flirt her white mane. She wanted to show her red ribbons.

Last of all came the cat. The cat looked round, as usual, for the warmest place. Finally the cat sat down between Boxer and Clover. There she purred contentedly throughout Major’s speech. Actually, she did not listen to a word of his speech.

All the animals were now present except Moses. Moses was the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that everybody was comfortable, he cleared his throat and began:

“Comrades, you heard already about my strange dream last night. But I will talk about that dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you long. I shall die one day. And it is my duty to give you some wisdom.