Once again the animals were conscious of a vague uneasiness. Never to have any dealings with human beings, never to engage in trade, never to make use of money−had not these been among the earliest resolutions passed at that first triumphant Meeting after Jones was expelled? 🔊 All the animals remembered passing such resolutions: or at least they thought that they remembered it. 🔊 The four young pigs who had protested when Napoleon abolished the Meetings raised their voices timidly, but they were promptly silenced by a tremendous growling from the dogs. 🔊 Then, as usual, the sheep broke into "Four legs good, two legs bad!" and the momentary awkwardness was smoothed over. 🔊 Finally Napoleon raised his trotter for silence and announced that he had already made all the arrangements. 🔊 There would be no need for any of the animals to come in contact with human beings, which would clearly be most undesirable. 🔊 He intended to take the whole burden upon his own shoulders. A Mr. Whymper, a solicitor living in Willingdon, had agreed to act as intermediary between Animal Farm and the outside world, and would visit the farm every Monday morning to receive his instructions. 🔊 Napoleon ended his speech with his usual cry of "Long live Animal Farm!" and after the singing of Beasts of England the animals were dismissed. 🔊

Afterwards Squealer made a round of the farm and set the animals' minds at rest. 🔊 He assured them that the resolution against engaging in trade and using money had never been passed, or even suggested. 🔊 It was pure imagination, probably traceable in the beginning to lies circulated by Snowball. A few animals still felt faintly doubtful, but Squealer asked them shrewdly, "Are you certain that this is not something that you have dreamed, comrades? 🔊 Have you any record of such a resolution? Is it written down anywhere?" And since it was certainly true that nothing of the kind existed in writing, the animals were satisfied that they had been mistaken. 🔊

Every Monday Mr. Whymper visited the farm as had been arranged. He was a sly−looking little man with side whiskers, a solicitor in a very small way of business, but sharp enough to have realised earlier than anyone else that Animal Farm would need a broker and that the commissions would be worth having. 🔊 The animals watched his coming and going with a kind of dread, and avoided him as much as possible. 🔊 Nevertheless, the sight of Napoleon, on all fours, delivering orders to Whymper, who stood on two legs, roused their pride and partly reconciled them to the new arrangement. 🔊 Their relations with the human race were now not quite the same as they had been before. 🔊 The human beings did not hate Animal Farm any less now that it was prospering; indeed, they hated it more than ever. 🔊 Every human being held it as an article of faith that the farm would go bankrupt sooner or later, and, above all, that the windmill would be a failure. 🔊