前言：学习英语关键是要用，我深以为然，于是试着翻译一本英语原著。这只是手稿，由于对语法的了解不够，难免错误。另外，对于一些单词的译法，我也使用我自己的理解，比如，"beasts of England"，我就思考了很久，“英格兰之动物”？“英格兰之野兽”？“英格兰之兽”？或“英格兰畜牲”？都感觉不好，于是翻译成“英格兰之生灵”，感觉要好一点，请战友们提出宝贵意见。谢谢。
《动物农场》（第一章译稿）
翻译：杨怀玉
第一章
琼斯先生，曼纳农场之主，因天色已晚，已经锁上了鸡棚，但由于太醉而忘了关上里面的小门。借着摇来晃去，叮当作响的马灯发出的亮光，他踉跄着穿过院子，在后门踢掉了靴子，从洗碗间的啤酒桶里舀起今天的最后一杯啤酒，一饮而尽，然后一头倒在床上。此时，床上的琼斯夫人早已鼾声如雷。
就在卧室灯光熄灭时，一种躁动不安的情绪弥漫了农场各个角落。因为，有件事白天已传遍农场：老麦杰，那只了不起的中等白猪，在前一天晚上曾做了一个奇怪的梦，想要与其他动物分享。大家已约定，等琼斯先生离开了，安全的时候，在窝棚的空地上一起开个会。老麦杰（他经常被这样称呼，尽管他被展览时的名字是“威灵顿美男”）在农场是如此受尊敬，所有动物都完全准备好牺牲一小时睡眠，来听听他有什么要说。
在空旷的谷仓尽头，在一个类似于演讲台的上面，麦杰早已安坐在他的稻草床上，手里提着一只马灯，灯光里他带着一丝微笑。他12岁了，最近发福相当厉害，但还是不失为一只风度翩翩的猪，尽管他的獠牙从未割掉，但看起来还是带着智慧与慈祥的。不久，其他动物陆续来到，以各式各样的姿式让自己舒服地呆着。最先来的是三只狗，布鲁鲍尔、杰西和皮切，然后是一群猪，他们迅速在台前安顿下来。母鸡们栖于窗台，鸽子们则飞上了横梁，绵羊和奶牛卧在猪群的后面开始反刍食物。两只役马，布克斯和库鲁娃，一起走了进来，步履缓慢，小心翼翼地放下他们那毛发茂密的马蹄，以防踩到藏在稻草底下一些小动物。库鲁娃是一只婆婆妈妈的胖母马，接近中年，生了四只小马驹后，她从未完全恢复体型。布克斯体型巨大且凶相毕露，接近18手高，如两匹寻常马匹合在一起那么强壮。鼻子下一条白纹使他看上去有点呆，事实上他智力就是不怎么样，但他的固执性格和工作时的精力充沛也是得到公认的。尾随进来的是莫里奥，一只白山羊，还有本杰明，一只驴子。本杰明是农场里最老的动物，脾气糟糕，孤言寡语，出语便通常是冷嘲热讽，比如，他会说上帝给他尾巴驱赶苍蝇，但他更希望没有尾巴和苍蝇。整个农场只有他从来不笑，如果问他为什么，他会说没见到什么可笑的。然而，没有公开承认的是，他忠诚于布克斯；他们俩经常一起过周末，在苹果园边上的小牧场里，肩并着肩，默默地吃着草。两匹马刚刚卧下，一窝失去母亲的小鸭鱼贯而入，虚弱地唧唧叫着，漫无目的地乱窜，想找一个不会被踩着的地方。库鲁娃伸出一只前腿，象墙一般护着他们，依偎在里面的小鸭们很快进入了梦乡。最后一刻，莫丽，一只漂亮而愚蠢的白色母马，她负责拉琼斯先生的马车，优雅地扭了进来，嘴里嚼着一块方糖。她找了一块靠前的位置坐下，开始摆弄她的白色鬃毛，试图让大家注意到她那结在头上的红色丝带。最后，猫大人降临，象往常一样，他环顾四周，想找一个最温暖所在，最后把自己挤进布克斯和库鲁娃之间，在那满足地咕噜着，整个麦杰的演讲没听进一个词。
除了摩西所有的动物都到了，摩西是一只驯化的乌鸦，睡在后门里的架子上。麦杰看到全部动物都安置妥当，并全神贯注地等着，他清了清嗓子，开始了演讲：
同志们，你们已经听说了我昨晚做的那个奇怪的梦。这事我稍后再提。我想先讲一些其他的事。同志们，我不认为，还多少个月能和你们在一起，在我去世之前，我想我有责任将获得的智慧传授给你们。我命够长了，独自躺在我的圈里，有如此多的时间用来思考，我想，我应该说明白了生命的真谛，那些现在活在这个地球上的动物生命的真谛，这就是我想要对你们说的。
现在，同志们，什么是我们生命的真谛呢？让我们面对以下这些现实：我们的生命是悲惨的，辛劳的和短暂的。我们生下来，得到如此之少的食物，仅能维持呼吸，但这真的仅仅是命中注定的吗？是因为土地太贫瘠，以至于我们长期辛勤劳作还是不足以维持体面的生活吗？不是的，同志们，一千个不！英格兰土地肥沃，风调雨顺，能产出如此多的食物，远超过生活于此的动物所需。单以我们农场来说，就能支持一打马匹，二十只奶牛，上百只绵羊——甚至所有的动物过上超乎我们相像的舒适和有尊严的生活。那么，为什么我们还是处于悲惨境地呢？原因是我们几乎所有的劳动成果都被人类掠夺。因此，同志们，这就是我们所有问题的根源所在。所有这些归结为一个字——“人”。
人类是我们唯一的真正的敌人。把人类从这赶走，饥饿和过度劳作将永远被废除。
人类是唯一不事生产而食的生物。他不产奶，他不生蛋，他太弱小而不能拉犁，他跑得不够快抓不到兔子。他只是所有动物的主人。他驱使他们劳作，回报他们的是少至最低限度，仅防他们饿死的食物，剩下的全部留给自己。我们劳作在这块土地，我们的粪便使之肥沃，我们之中却没有一个能拥有更多的东西，除了这身赤裸的皮毛。你们这些我跟前的奶牛，去年你们贡献了多少加仑牛奶？这些可以喂养壮大小奶牛的牛奶又怎么样了呢？每一滴都流入了我们敌人的喉咙。还有你们这些母鸡们，你们下的蛋有多少孵化成了小鸡，剩余的全部被送到市场上去为琼斯他们换取钞票。还有你，库鲁娃，你生下来的四匹幼马，他们本是你的晚年的寄托与慰籍，现在在哪呢？每一只都在一岁就被卖掉，你再也没见到过他们中的任何一个。回报你四次分娩和地头劳作的，除了微薄的口粮和一个仅能容身的马厩还有啥呢？
即便是我们过着的这种悲惨生活，也不能尽享天年。对我自己来说，我没有什么抱怨的，因为我是相当幸运的。我十二岁了，曾有过超过400个孩子。这是一只猪的正常寿命。但没有动物最后能逃过屠刀。你们这些坐在我前面的肉猪们，一年之内，你们每一个都将在屠宰台上嚎叫着失去生命。这种恐惧我们全都必须经历，奶牛们，猪罗们，绵羊们，每一只动物。就是你们这些马和狗也不会有更好的结局。你，布克斯，有那么一天，你那些强壮的肌肉失去力量，琼斯会将你卖给屠马者，他们会割断你的喉咙，煮熟，扔给猎狐狗。狗也是一样，当他们老了，牙齿掉了，琼斯会在他们脖子上捆块砖，然后丢进最近的水塘溺死。
这是不是很清楚了？呃，同志们，所有我们精神、我们命运的不幸来源正是人类的残暴统治。只有赶走人类，我们才能有丰富的劳动成果和自由。那么，我们应该做什么呢？嗨，日夜不停，投入全副身心，为推翻人类的统治而抗争！这就是我对你们的忠言，同志们：反抗！我不知道这种抗争何时来临，可能一周之内或者100年内，但我知道，如同我能看见我脚下的稻草一样确定，迟早总会到来。
同志们，穷尽你们短暂的余生！用你们的眼睛盯着这个事。尤其是要把我的忠言传播给你们的后来者，未来的一代又一代将不停地抗争，直到取得最后的胜利。
记住，同志们，你们的决心永远不要动摇。不让任何说法使得你们误入歧途。永远不要听信他们告诉你们的，什么人类和动物存在共同的利益，什么一方的繁荣就是另一方的繁荣。这是彻头彻尾的谎言。人们只顾为自己获取利益而罔顾其他动物。我们动物之间要团结一致，建立斗争中的亲密同志关系。所有的人类都是敌人。所有的动物都是同志。
就在这时，传来一阵嘈杂的喧闹声。原来是在麦杰演讲时，四只肥大的老鼠爬出它们的洞穴，坐在它们的后半身上，正聆听着他演讲。狗儿突然一眼瞅到了它们，老鼠们为了逃生，迅速冲进洞里。麦杰抬了抬猪脚，示意大家安静。
同志们，他说，这里有一点必须明确，野生动物，比如老鼠和野兔——他们是我们的朋友还是敌人？让我们来表决一下，我向大会提议表决：老鼠们是同志吗？
表决被立即举行，此决议以压倒性多数同意老鼠们是同志。只有仅仅四张反对票，三只狗和那只猫，后来发现他们两边都投了票。麦杰继续道：
我还有更多的一点要说。我只想重申，你们永恒的职责是仇恨人类及人类所有的东西。任何两只脚走路的就是敌人。任何四只脚走路的或者有翅膀的都是朋友。而且记住要为反抗人类而斗争，我们必须不变成他们那样。无论何时你们征服了他们，千万不要染上他们的恶习。所有动物不能住进房屋，或者睡在床上，或者穿上衣服，或者饮食酒精类饮料，或者吸食烟草，或者触碰金钱，或者参与生意。所有的这些人类习惯都是罪恶的。还有，综上所述，没有动物可以压迫自己的同类。无论羸弱还是强壮，聪慧还是愚笨，我们都是兄弟。所有动物都不能屠杀其他动物。所有的动物都是平等的。
现在，同志们，我将告诉你们我昨晚的梦。我无法向你们描述这个梦境。这是一个在人类消失后，有关这个地球的梦。但是它提醒了我一些长久以来忘却了的事情。
很多年前，那时我还是一只小猪仔，我妈妈和其他母猪常常吟唱一首古老的歌谣，她们只记得曲调以及开头三个单词。我在童年时就知道这个曲调，但在我脑海中消逝已久。然而就在昨晚，它又回到我的梦里。不仅如此，那些歌词也同时显现——就是歌词，我记得千真万确，动物们在遥远的过去曾吟唱的歌词，已经消失在几代动物记忆里的歌词。同志们，我现在就要唱起这首歌谣。我年事已迈，声音沙哑，但只要我教过你们这些旋律，你们就能自己唱得更好。歌谣的名字叫做“英格兰之生灵”。
老麦杰清了清嗓子，开始歌唱。当如他所说，他的声音沙哑，但他唱得相当好，曲调激越，旋律介于美国民谣《Clementine》和墨西哥民歌《La Cucaracha》之间。歌词如下：
英格兰之生灵，爱尔兰之生灵，
普天之下众生灵，
倾听我传福音
关乎那金色的未来。
日子过得或紧或慢，
人类暴君终将消亡，
英格兰那富饶的土地
只有我们留下的足迹。
锁链亦将从鼻上摘除，
连同我们背上的桎梏，
疼痛与马刺永远生锈，
残暴之鞭永不再响起。
富裕的蓝图超乎想象，
小麦大麦燕麦和干草
苜蓿大豆还有那甜菜
那天开始归我们所有。
阳光普照英格兰大地，
那里的河水如此纯净，
那里的风儿如此轻柔。
那天起开创自由时代。
为那天我们共同奋斗，
哪怕到来前已经长眠；
奶牛和马，鹅与火鸡
为了自由须不辞辛劳。
英格兰之生灵，爱尔兰之生灵，
普天之下众生灵
倾听我传福音
关乎那金色的未来时光。
这首歌谣的合唱将动物们抛入了那种狂热激动当中。几乎就在麦杰快要唱到最后的时候，他们开始自发地唱了起来。即使是他们之间最迟钝的也已经学会了旋律和少量几个单词，对于那些聪明的动物们，比如猪和狗，他们只花了几分钟就在心里记住了整首歌。然后，经过少量预备试唱后，整个农场爆发出惊人协调一致，齐声唱起《英格兰之生灵》，奶牛低吼，狗狗轻嗥，绵羊咩咩，骏马嘶鸣，鸭子嘎嘎。他们是如此喜欢这首歌谣，仅仅用了五次就成功地把这首歌谣唱得一字不差，如果不被打断的话，也许他们将会通宵达旦地吟唱这首歌。遗憾的是，喧闹声吵醒了琼斯先生，他跳下床，认为肯定是有一只狐狸钻进了院子里。他抓起那条经常放在他卧室的角落里枪，朝黑暗里，乒乒乓乓的将满膛六颗子弹全部射出。弹粒全部射进了谷仓的墙里，。会议迅速被中止。每一只动物都溜回属于自己睡觉的地方。鸟儿跳上了他们的架子，动物们在他们的窝棚里安顿下来，整个农场霎时风平浪静。
AnimalFarm
Chapter1
Mr.Jones,of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-house for the night, but was too drunk toremember to shut the popholes. With the ring light from his lantern dancingfrom side to side, he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the backdoor, drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery, andmade his way up to bed, where Mrs.Jones was already snoring.
Assoon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and aflutteringall through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that oldMajor, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previousnight and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had been agreedthat they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr.Jones was safe out of theway. Old Major (so he was always called, though the name under which he hadbeen exhibited was Willingdon beauty) was highly regarded on the farm thateveryone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he hadto say.
Atone end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was alreadyensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. He wastwelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he was still amajestc-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance in spite of the factthat his tushes had never been cut. Before long the other animals began toarrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. Firstcame the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, and then the pigs, whosettled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hensperched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to therafters, 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, walking very slowlyand setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there should besome small animal concealed in the straw. Clove was a stout motherly mareapproaching middle life. Who had never quite got her figure back after fourthfoal. Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong asany two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him asomewhat stupid appearance, and in fact he was not first-rate intelligence, buthe was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendouspowers of work. After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin, thedonkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. Heseldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark, forinstance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, butthat he would sooner have had no tail and no flies. Alone among the animals onthe farm he never laughed. If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing tolaugh at. Nevertheless, without opening admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer;the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddockbeyondthe orchard, grazing side by sideand never speaking.
The
two horseshad just lain down when a brood of ducklings, which had lost their
mother, filed into the barn, cheaply feedly and wondering 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 whodrew Mr.Jones’trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at alump of sugar. She took a place near thefront and began flirting her white mane, hoping to draw attention to the redribbons it was plaited with. Last of all came the cat, who looked round, asusual, for, the warmest place, and finally squeezed herself in between Boxerand Clover; there she purred contentedly throughout Major’s speech withoutlistening to a word of what he was saying.
Allthe animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perchbehind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortableand were waiting attentively, he cleared he throat and began:
“comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I hadlast night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to sayfirst. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many monthslonger, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as Ihave acquired. I have a long life, I have had much time for thought as I layalone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of lifeon this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish tospeak to you.
“Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us faceit: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are givenjust so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us whoare capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and thevery instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered withhideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisureafter he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of the animal ismisery and slavery: that is the plain truth.
“But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because thisland of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwellupon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! the soil of England is fertile, itsclimate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormouslygreater number of animals than now inhabit it. This single farm of ours wouldsupport a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep – and all of them livingin a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining. Why thendo we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of theproduce of our labour is stolem from us by human beings. There, comrades, isthe answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a singleword – Man. Man is the only real enemy wehave. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork isabolished forever.
“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He doesnot give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, hecannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. Hesets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will preventthem from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills thesoil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns morethan his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, how many thousands ofgallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened tothat milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of ithas gone down the throats of our enemies.And you hens, how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? Therest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you,Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the supportand pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old – you will never seeone of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour inthe fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?
“And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach theirnatural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I amtwelves years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the naturallife of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkerswho are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out atthe block within a year. To that horror we all must come -cows, pigs, hens,sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer,the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones willsell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for thefoxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones tie a brickround their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.
“Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of thislife of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, andthe produce of our labour would become rich and free. What then must we do?Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race!That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when thatRebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know,as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justicewill be done.Fix your eyes on that,comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass onthis message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generationsshall carry on the struggle until it is victorious.
“And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. Noargument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and theanimals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is theprosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of nocreature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity,perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals arecomrades.”
Atthis moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four largerats had crept out of their holes and were sitting on their hindquarters,listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was onlyby swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. Major raised histrotter for silence.
“Comrades,” he said, “here is a point that must be settled. The wildcreatures, such as rats and rabbits – are they our friends or our enemies? Letus put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are ratscomrades?”
Thevote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that ratswere comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat,who was afterwards discovered to have voted both sides. Major continued:
“I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always yourduty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is anenemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And rememberalso that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even whenyou have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in ahouse, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco,or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, aboveall, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever orsimple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. Allanimals are equal.
“And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. Icannot describe that dream to you. It was a dream of the earth as it will bewhen Man has vanished. But itremindedme of something that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a littlepig, my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knewonly the tune and the first three words. I had known that tune in my infancy,but it had long since passed out of my mind. Last night, however, it came backto me in my dream. And what is more, the words of the song also came back –words, I am certain, which were sung by the animals of long ago and have beenlost to memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I amold and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can singit better for yourselves. It is called beasts of England.”
OldMajor cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice washoarse, but he sang well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something betweenClementine and La Cucaracha. The words ran:
Beastsof England, beasts of Ireland,
Beastsof every land and clime,
Hearkento my joyful tidings
Ofthe golden future time.
Soonor late the day is coming,
TyrantMan shall be o’erthrown,
Andthe fruitful fields of England
Shallbe trod by beasts alone.
Ringsshall vanish from our noses,
Andthe harness from our back,
Bitand spur shall rust forever,
cruelwhips no more shall crack.
Richesmore than mind can picture,
Wheatand barley, oats and hay,
Clover,beans, and mangel-wurzels
Shallbe ours upon that day.
Brightwill shine the fields of England,
Purershall its waters be,
sweeteryet shall blow its breezes.
Onthe day that sets us free.
Forthat day we all must labour,
Thoughwe die before it break;
Cowsand horses, geese and turkeys,
Allmust toil for freedom’s sake.
Beastsof England, beasts of Ireland,
Beastsof every land and clime,
Hearkenwell and spread my tidings
Ofthe golden future time.
Thesinging of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almostbefore Major had reached the end, they had begun singing it for themselves.Even the stupidest of them had already picked up the tune and a few of thewords, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs, they had theentire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a few preliminarytries, the whole farm burst out into beasts of England in tremendous unison.The cows lowed it, the dogs whined it, the sheep bleated it, the horseswhinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so delighted with the song thatthey sang it right through five times in succession, and might have continuedsinging it all night if they had not been interrupted.
Unfortunately,the uproar awoke Mr.Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was afox in the yard. He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of hisbedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. The pelletsburied themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly.Everyone fled to his own sleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches,the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in amoment.
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