← 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 quite ready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say. 🔊
← When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began: "Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. 🔊
← All animals should go naked." When Boxer heard this he fetched the small straw hat which he wore in summer to keep the flies out of his ears, and flung it on to the fire with the rest. 🔊
← And when the human beings listened to it, they secretly trembled, hearing in it a prophecy of their future doom. 🔊
← The animals had never heard of anything of this kind before (for the farm was an old−fashioned one and had only the most primitive machinery), and they listened in astonishment while Snowball conjured up pictures of fantastic machines which would do their work for them while they grazed at their ease in the fields or improved their minds with reading and conversation. 🔊
← On the third Sunday after Snowball's expulsion, the animals were somewhat surprised to hear Napoleon announce that the windmill was to be built after all. 🔊
← Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing−room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds. 🔊
← "You have heard then, comrades," he said, "that we pigs now sleep in the beds of the farmhouse? 🔊
← When the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry. They had been warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not believed that it would really happen. 🔊
← Whymper heard nothing of this affair, and the eggs were duly delivered, a grocer's van driving up to the farm once a week to take them away. 🔊
← So Beasts of England was heard no more. In its place Minimus, the poet, had composed another song which began: Animal Farm, Animal Farm, Never through me shalt thou come to harm! 🔊
← Snowball was known to be still skulking on Pinchfield Farm. In the middle of the summer the animals were alarmed to hear that three hens had come forward and confessed that, inspired by Snowball, they had entered into a plot to murder Napoleon. 🔊
← The animals' blood boiled with rage when they heard of these things being done to their comrades, and sometimes they clamoured to be allowed to go out in a body and attack Pinchfield Farm, drive out the humans, and set the animals free. 🔊
← Once again some of the animals heard this with a certain bewilderment, but Squealer was soon able to convince them that their memories had been at fault. 🔊
← And the animals heard, from the direction of the farm buildings, the solemn booming of a gun. 🔊
← But when the animals saw the green flag flying, and heard the gun firing again−seven times it was fired in all−and heard the speech that Napoleon made, congratulating them on their conduct, it did seem to them after all that they had won a great victory. 🔊
← "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. 🔊
← That was how the mistake had arisen. The animals were enormously relieved to hear this. 🔊
← Many animals had been born to whom the Rebellion was only a dim tradition, passed on by word of mouth, and others had been bought who had never heard mention of such a thing before their arrival. 🔊
← And when they heard the gun booming and saw the green flag fluttering at the masthead, their hearts swelled with imperishable pride, and the talk turned always towards the old heroic days, the expulsion of Jones, the writing of the Seven Commandments, the great battles in which the human invaders had been defeated. 🔊