George Orwell’s “Animal Farm: Chapter 9” by Mr. Briggs Lyrics

Boxer's split hoof was a long time in healing. They had started the

rebuilding of the windmill the day after the victory celebrations were

ended. Boxer refused to take even a day off work, and made it a point of

honour not to let it be seen that he was in pain. In the evenings he would

admit privately to Clover that the hoof troubled him a great deal. Clover

treated the hoof with poultices of herbs which she prepared by chewing

them, and both she and Benjamin urged Boxer to work less hard. "A horse's

lungs do not last for ever," she said to him. But Boxer would not listen.

He had, he said, only one real ambition left--to see the windmill well

under way before he reached the age for retirement.

At the beginning, when the laws of Animal Farm were first formulated,
the retiring age had been fixed for horses and pigs at twelve, for cows at

fourteen, for dogs at nine, for sheep at seven, and for hens and geese at

five. Liberal old-age pensions had been agreed upon. As yet no animal had

actually retired on pension, but of late the subject had been discussed

more and more. Now that the small field beyond the orchard had been set

aside for barley, it was rumoured that a corner of the large pasture was

to be fenced off and turned into a grazing-ground for superannuated

animals. For a horse, it was said, the pension would be five pounds of

corn a day and, in winter, fifteen pounds of hay, with a carrot or

possibly an apple on public holidays. Boxer's twelfth birthday was due in

the late summer of the following year.

Meanwhile life was hard. The winter was as cold as the last one had been,

and food was even shorter. Once again all rations were reduced, except
those of the pigs and the dogs. A too rigid equality in rations, Squealer

explained, would have been contrary to the principles of Animalism. In any

case he had no difficulty in proving to the other animals that they were

NOT in reality short of food, whatever the appearances might be. For the

time being, certainly, it had been found necessary to make a readjustment

of rations (Squealer always spoke of it as a "readjustment," never as a

"reduction"), but in comparison with the days of Jones, the improvement

was enormous. Reading out the figures in a shrill, rapid voice, he proved

to them in detail that they had more oats, more hay, more turnips than

they had had in Jones's day, that they worked shorter hours, that their

drinking water was of better quality, that they lived longer, that a

larger proportion of their young ones survived infancy, and that they had

more straw in their stalls and suffered less from fleas. The animals
believed every word of it. Truth to tell, Jones and all he stood for had

almost faded out of their memories. They knew that life nowadays was harsh

and bare, that they were often hungry and often cold, and that they were

usually working when they were not asleep. But doubtless it had been worse

in the old days. They were glad to believe so. Besides, in those days they

had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference,

as Squealer did not fail to point out.

There were many more mouths to feed now. In the autumn the four sows had

all littered about simultaneously, producing thirty-one young pigs between

them. The young pigs were piebald, and as Napoleon was the only boar on

the farm, it was possible to guess at their parentage. It was announced

that later, when bricks and timber had been purchased, a schoolroom would

be built in the farmhouse garden. For the time being, the young pigs were

given their instruction by Napoleon himself in the farmhouse kitchen. They

took their exercise in the garden, and were discouraged from playing with

the other young animals. About this time, too, it was laid down as a rule

that when a pig and any other animal met on the path, the other animal

must stand aside: and also that all pigs, of whatever degree, were to have

the privilege of wearing green ribbons on their tails on Sundays.

The farm had had a fairly successful year, but was still short of money.

There were the bricks, sand, and lime for the schoolroom to be purchased,

and it would also be necessary to begin saving up again for the machinery

for the windmill. Then there were lamp oil and candles for the house,

sugar for Napoleon's own table (he forbade this to the other pigs, on the

ground that it made them fat), and all the usual replacements such as

tools, nails, string, coal, wire, scrap-iron, and dog biscuits. A stump of

hay and part of the potato crop were sold off, and the contract for eggs

was increased to six hundred a week, so that that year the hens barely

hatched enough chicks to keep their numbers at the same level. Rations,

reduced in December, were reduced again in February, and lanterns in the

stalls were forbidden to save oil. But the pigs seemed comfortable enough,

and in fact were putting on weight if anything. One afternoon in late

February a warm, rich, appetising scent, such as the animals had never

smelt before, wafted itself across the yard from the little brew-house,

which had been disused in Jones's time, and which stood beyond the

kitchen. Someone said it was the smell of cooking barley. The animals

sniffed the air hungrily and wondered whether a warm mash was being

prepared for their supper. But no warm mash appeared, and on the following

Sunday it was announced that from now onwards all barley would be reserved

for the pigs. The field beyond the orchard had already been sown with

barley. And the news soon leaked out that every pig was now receiving a

ration of a pint of beer daily, with half a gallon for Napoleon himself,

which was always served to him in the Crown Derby soup tureen.

But if there were hardships to be borne, they were partly offset by the

fact that life nowadays had a greater dignity than it had had before.

There were more songs, more speeches, more processions. Napoleon had

commanded that once a week there should be held something called a

Spontaneous Demonstration, the object of which was to celebrate the

struggles and triumphs of Animal Farm. At the appointed time the animals

would leave their work and march round the precincts of the farm in

military formation, with the pigs leading, then the horses, then the cows,

then the sheep, and then the poultry. The dogs flanked the procession and

at the head of all marched Napoleon's black cockerel. Boxer and Clover

always carried between them a green banner marked with the hoof and the

horn and the caption, "Long live Comrade Napoleon!" Afterwards there were

recitations of poems composed in Napoleon's honour, and a speech by

Squealer giving particulars of the latest increases in the production of

foodstuffs, and on occasion a shot was fired from the gun. The sheep were

the greatest devotees of the Spontaneous Demonstration, and if anyone

complained (as a few animals sometimes did, when no pigs or dogs were near)

that they wasted time and meant a lot of standing about in the cold, the

sheep were sure to silence him with a tremendous bleating of "Four legs

good, two legs bad!" But by and large the animals enjoyed these

celebrations. They found it comforting to be reminded that, after all,

they were truly their own masters and that the work they did was for their

own benefit. So that, what with the songs, the processions, Squealer's

lists of figures, the thunder of the gun, the crowing of the cockerel,

and the fluttering of the flag, they were able to forget that their

bellies were empty, at least part of the time.

In April, Animal Farm was proclaimed a Republic, and it became necessary

to elect a President. There was only one candidate, Napoleon, who was

elected unanimously. On the same day it was given out that fresh documents

had been discovered which revealed further details about Snowball's

complicity with Jones. It now appeared that Snowball had not, as the

animals had previously imagined, merely attempted to lose the Battle of

the Cowshed by means of a stratagem, but had been openly fighting on

Jones's side. In fact, it was he who had actually been the leader of the

human forces, and had charged into battle with the words "Long live

Humanity!" on his lips. The wounds on Snowball's back, which a few of the

animals still remembered to have seen, had been inflicted by Napoleon's

teeth.

In the middle of the summer Moses the raven suddenly reappeared on the

farm, after an absence of several years. He was quite unchanged, still did

no work, and talked in the same strain as ever about Sugarcandy Mountain.

He would perch on a stump, flap his black wings, and talk by the hour to

anyone who would listen. "Up there, comrades," he would say solemnly,

pointing to the sky with his large beak--"up there, just on the other side

of that dark cloud that you can see--there it lies, Sugarcandy Mountain,

that happy country where we poor animals shall rest for ever from our

labours!" He even claimed to have been there on one of his higher flights,

and to have seen the everlasting fields of clover and the linseed cake and

lump sugar growing on the hedges. Many of the animals believed him. Their

lives now, they reasoned, were hungry and laborious; was it not right and

just that a better world should exist somewhere else? A thing that was

difficult to determine was the attitude of the pigs towards Moses. They

all declared contemptuously that his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain

were lies, and yet they allowed him to remain on the farm, not working,

with an allowance of a gill of beer a day.

After his hoof had healed up, Boxer worked harder than ever. Indeed, all

the animals worked like slaves that year. Apart from the regular work of

the farm, and the rebuilding of the windmill, there was the schoolhouse

for the young pigs, which was started in March. Sometimes the long hours

on insufficient food were hard to bear, but Boxer never faltered. In

nothing that he said or did was there any sign that his strength was not

what it had been. It was only his appearance that was a little altered;

his hide was less shiny than it had used to be, and his great haunches

seemed to have shrunken. The others said, "Boxer will pick up when the

spring grass comes on"; but the spring came and Boxer grew no fatter.

Sometimes on the slope leading to the top of the quarry, when he braced

his muscles against the weight of some vast boulder, it seemed that

nothing kept him on his feet except the will to continue. At such times

his lips were seen to form the words, "I will work harder"; he had no

voice left. Once again Clover and Benjamin warned him to take care of his

health, but Boxer paid no attention. His twelfth birthday was approaching.

He did not care what happened so long as a good store of stone was

accumulated before he went on pension.

Late one evening in the summer, a sudden rumour ran round the farm that

something had happened to Boxer. He had gone out alone to drag a load of

stone down to the windmill. And sure enough, the rumour was true. A few

minutes later two pigeons came racing in with the news; "Boxer has fallen!

He is lying on his side and can't get up!"

About half the animals on the farm rushed out to the knoll where the

windmill stood. There lay Boxer, between the shafts of the cart, his neck

stretched out, unable even to raise his head. His eyes were glazed, his

sides matted with sweat. A thin stream of blood had trickled out of his

mouth. Clover dropped to her knees at his side.

"Boxer!" she cried, "how are you?"

"It is my lung," said Boxer in a weak voice. "It does not matter. I think

you will be able to finish the windmill without me. There is a pretty good

store of stone accumulated. I had only another month to go in any case.

To tell you the truth, I had been looking forward to my retirement. And

perhaps, as Benjamin is growing old too, they will let him retire at the

same time and be a companion to me."

"We must get help at once," said Clover. "Run, somebody, and tell Squealer

what has happened."

All the other animals immediately raced back to the farmhouse to give

Squealer the news. Only Clover remained, and Benjamin who lay down at

Boxer's side, and, without speaking, kept the flies off him with his long

tail. After about a quarter of an hour Squealer appeared, full of sympathy

and concern. He said that Comrade Napoleon had learned with the very

deepest distress of this misfortune to one of the most loyal workers on

the farm, and was already making arrangements to send Boxer to be treated

in the hospital at Willingdon. The animals felt a little uneasy at this.

Except for Mollie and Snowball, no other animal had ever left the farm,

and they did not like to think of their sick comrade in the hands of human

beings. However, Squealer easily convinced them that the veterinary

surgeon in Willingdon could treat Boxer's case more satisfactorily than

could be done on the farm. And about half an hour later, when Boxer had

somewhat recovered, he was with difficulty got on to his feet, and managed

to limp back to his stall, where Clover and Benjamin had prepared a good

bed of straw for him.

For the next two days Boxer remained in his stall. The pigs had sent out a

large bottle of pink medicine which they had found in the medicine chest

in the bathroom, and Clover administered it to Boxer twice a day after

meals. In the evenings she lay in his stall and talked to him, while

Benjamin kept the flies off him. Boxer professed not to be sorry for what

had happened. If he made a good recovery, he might expect to live another

three years, and he looked forward to the peaceful days that he would

spend in the corner of the big pasture. It would be the first time that he

had had leisure to study and improve his mind. He intended, he said, to

devote the rest of his life to learning the remaining twenty-two letters

of the alphabet.

However, Benjamin and Clover could only be with Boxer after working hours,

and it was in the middle of the day when the van came to take him away.

The animals were all at work weeding turnips under the supervision of a

pig, when they were astonished to see Benjamin come galloping from the

direction of the farm buildings, braying at the top of his voice. It was

the first time that they had ever seen Benjamin excited--indeed, it was

the first time that anyone had ever seen him gallop. "Quick, quick!" he

shouted. "Come at once! They're taking Boxer away!" Without waiting for

orders from the pig, the animals broke off work and raced back to the farm

buildings. Sure enough, there in the yard was a large closed van, drawn by

two horses, with lettering on its side and a sly-looking man in a

low-crowned bowler hat sitting on the driver's seat. And Boxer's stall was

empty.

The animals crowded round the van. "Good-bye, Boxer!" they chorused,

"good-bye!"

"Fools! Fools!" shouted Benjamin, prancing round them and stamping the

earth with his small hoofs. "Fools! Do you not see what is written on the

side of that van?"

That gave the animals pause, and there was a hush. Muriel began to spell

out the words. But Benjamin pushed her aside and in the midst of a deadly

silence he read:

"'Alfred Simmonds, Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler, Willingdon. Dealer

in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied.' Do you not understand what that

means? They are taking Boxer to the knacker's!"

A cry of horror burst from all the animals. At this moment the man on the

box whipped up his horses and the van moved out of the yard at a smart

trot. All the animals followed, crying out at the tops of their voices.

Clover forced her way to the front. The van began to gather speed. Clover

tried to stir her stout limbs to a gallop, and achieved a canter. "Boxer!"

she cried. "Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!" And just at this moment, as though he

had heard the uproar outside, Boxer's face, with the white stripe down his

nose, appeared at the small window at the back of the van.

"Boxer!" cried Clover in a terrible voice. "Boxer! Get out! Get out

quickly! They're taking you to your death!"

All the animals took up the cry of "Get out, Boxer, get out!" But the van

was already gathering speed and drawing away from them. It was uncertain

whether Boxer had understood what Clover had said. But a moment later his

face disappeared from the window and there was the sound of a tremendous

drumming of hoofs inside the van. He was trying to kick his way out. The

time had been when a few kicks from Boxer's hoofs would have smashed the

van to matchwood. But alas! his strength had left him; and in a few

moments the sound of drumming hoofs grew fainter and died away. In

desperation the animals began appealing to the two horses which drew the

van to stop. "Comrades, comrades!" they shouted. "Don't take your own

brother to his death! "But the stupid brutes, too ignorant to realise

what was happening, merely set back their ears and quickened their pace.

Boxer's face did not reappear at the window. Too late, someone thought of

racing ahead and shutting the five-barred gate; but in another moment the

van was through it and rapidly disappearing down the road. Boxer was never

seen again.

Three days later it was announced that he had died in the hospital at

Willingdon, in spite of receiving every attention a horse could have.

Squealer came to announce the news to the others. He had, he said, been

present during Boxer's last hours.

"It was the most affecting sight I have ever seen!" said Squealer, lifting

his trotter and wiping away a tear. "I was at his bedside at the very

last. And at the end, almost too weak to speak, he whispered in my ear

that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was

finished. 'Forward, comrades!' he whispered. 'Forward in the name of the

Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm! Long live Comrade Napoleon! Napoleon is

always right.' Those were his very last words, comrades."

Here Squealer's demeanour suddenly changed. He fell silent for a moment,

and his little eyes darted suspicious glances from side to side before he

proceeded.

It had come to his knowledge, he said, that a foolish and wicked rumour

had been circulated at the time of Boxer's removal. Some of the animals

had noticed that the van which took Boxer away was marked "Horse

Slaughterer," and had actually jumped to the conclusion that Boxer was

being sent to the knacker's. It was almost unbelievable, said Squealer,

that any animal could be so stupid. Surely, he cried indignantly, whisking

his tail and skipping from side to side, surely they knew their beloved

Leader, Comrade Napoleon, better than that? But the explanation was really

very simple. The van had previously been the property of the knacker, and

had been bought by the veterinary surgeon, who had not yet painted the old

name out. That was how the mistake had arisen.

The animals were enormously relieved to hear this. And when Squealer went

on to give further graphic details of Boxer's death-bed, the admirable

care he had received, and the expensive medicines for which Napoleon had

paid without a thought as to the cost, their last doubts disappeared and

the sorrow that they felt for their comrade's death was tempered by the

thought that at least he had died happy.

Napoleon himself appeared at the meeting on the following Sunday morning

and pronounced a short oration in Boxer's honour. It had not been

possible, he said, to bring back their lamented comrade's remains for

interment on the farm, but he had ordered a large wreath to be made from

the laurels in the farmhouse garden and sent down to be placed on Boxer's

grave. And in a few days' time the pigs intended to hold a memorial

banquet in Boxer's honour. Napoleon ended his speech with a reminder of

Boxer's two favourite maxims, "I will work harder" and "Comrade Napoleon

is always right"--maxims, he said, which every animal would do well to

adopt as his own.

On the day appointed for the banquet, a grocer's van drove up from

Willingdon and delivered a large wooden crate at the farmhouse. That night

there was the sound of uproarious singing, which was followed by what

sounded like a violent quarrel and ended at about eleven o'clock with a

tremendous crash of glass. No one stirred in the farmhouse before noon on

the following day, and the word went round that from somewhere or other

the pigs had acquired the money to buy themselves another case of whisky.