待那两匹马刚坐下,只见一窝失去妈妈的小鸭鱼贯而入,一边发出轻微的吱吱声,一边左右徘徊寻找一片不会被踩踏到的安全之地。克莱弗用她的前脚当作围墙圈住了它们,小鸭鸭们依偎其中,很快进入了梦乡。随后,帮琼斯曳车的傻驴莫丽迈着优雅的小碎步走了进来,嘴里还嚼着一块方糖。她靠前找了个位子坐下,随即开始挥动她的白色鬃毛,希望大家注意到她鬃毛上系的红丝带。最后入场的是一只猫,她一如平常先左右环顾寻觅仓里最暖和的地方,最后选择挤入布克瑟和克莱弗中间,舒服地发出咕咕的喉音。至于上校说了什么,她一个字也没听。
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 flirting her 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.
现在庄园里的伙伴基本都到场了,除了那只已被驯服的乌鸦摩西,此刻他正栖息在后门口的架子上。上校看大家都已落座,他清了清嗓子说道:
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: