Animal Farm（53）

On the third Sunday after Snowball’s expulsion，the animals were somewhat surprised to hear Napoleon announced the windmill was to be built was after all.  He did not give any reason for having changed his mind，but merely warned the animals that this extra task would mean very hard work；it might even be necessary to reduce their rations【n. 给养；配给量；比例】.  The plans， however，had all been prepared，down to the last detail.  A special committee of pigs had been a work upon them for the past three weeks.  The building of the windmill，with various other improvements，was expected to take two years.

斯诺鲍被驱逐后的第三个星期天，拿破仑宣布要建造风车，动物们听了还是有些吃惊。他没有说明改变主意的任何理由，只是警告动物们说，这项额外的任务将意味着非常艰苦的工作，甚至可能需要减少他们的口粮。然而，计划已经全部准备好了，连最后的细节都准备好了。在过去的三个星期里，一个由猪组成的特别委员会一直在研究他们。风车的建造，加上其他各种改进，预计要花两年时间。

That evening Squealer explained privately to the other animals that Napoleon had never in reality been opposed to the windmill.  On the contrary，it was he who had advocated it in the beginning，and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator【n. （用于体弱婴儿或早产儿护理的）恒温箱，保育箱；孵化器；细菌培养器；微生物培养器；（新兴小企业的）孵化基地（常配有后勤人员及设备，租金低廉）】 shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon’s papers.  The windmill was，in fact，Napoleon’s own creation.  Why，then，asked somebody，had he spoken so strongly against it? Here Squealer looked very sly.  That，he said，was Comrade Napoleon’s cunning【n. 狡猾】. He had seemed to oppose the windmill，simply as a manoeuvre【n. 特技动作，熟练动作；（尤指以欺骗为目的）策略，手段；欺诈性操作；军事演习（等于 maneuver）】 to get rid of Snowball，who was a dangerous character and a bad influence【坏影响】. Now that Snowball was out of the way，the plan could go forward without his interference.  This，said Squealer，was something called tactics.  He repeated a number of times，“Tactics， comrades，tactics！”skipping round and whiskeying his tail with a merry laugh.  The animals were not certain what the word mean，but Squealer spoke so persuasively，and the three dogs who happened to be with him groweled so threateningly ，that they accepted his explanation，without further questions.

那天晚上，斯奎拉私下向其他动物解释说，拿破仑实际上从来没有反对过风车。恰恰相反，最初是他提出的，斯诺鲍在孵化棚地板上画的计划实际上是从拿破仑的文件中偷来的。事实上，风车是拿破仑自己创造的。“那么，”有人问，“他为什么这么强烈地反对它呢?”说到这里，斯奎拉显得很狡猾。他说，这是拿破仑同志的诡计。他似乎反对风车，只不过是为了摆脱斯诺鲍这个危险人物和坏势力的一个计谋。既然斯诺鲍已经不碍事了，这个计划就可以不受他的干涉而继续进行了。斯奎拉说，这就是所谓的策略。他重复了好几次:“战术，同志们，战术!”蹦蹦跳跳，欢快地笑着甩动着尾巴。动物们不太清楚这个词是什么意思，但斯奎拉说得那么有说服力，而碰巧和他在一起的三条狗又是那么气势汹汹地咆哮着，因此他们没有再问什么，就接受了他的解释。