‚And now, comrades, I will tell you about my dream of last night. I cannot describe that dream to you. It was a dream of the earth as it will be when Man has vanished. But it reminded me of something that I had long forgotten. Many years ago, when I was a little pig, my mother and the other sows used to sing an old song of which they knew only 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 back to 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 been lost to memory for generations. I will sing you that song now, comrades. I am old and my voice is hoarse, but when I have taught you the tune, you can sing it better for yourselves. It is called Beasts of England.’
Old Major cleared his throat and began to sing. As he had said, his voice was hoarse, but he sang well enough, and it was a stirring tune, something between Clementine and La Cucaracha. The words ran:
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings
Of the golden future time.
Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o’erthrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone.
Rings shall vanish from our noses,
And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.
Riches more than mind can picture,
Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans, and mangel-wurzels
Shall be ours upon that day.
Bright will shine the fields of England,
Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes
On the day that sets us free.
For that day we all must labour,
Though we die before it break;
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom’s sake.
Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken well and spread my tidings
Of the golden future time.
The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement. Almost before 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 the words, and as for the clever ones, such as the pigs and dogs, they had the entire song by heart within a few minutes. And then, after a few preliminary tries, 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 horses whinnied it, the ducks quacked it. They were so delighted with the song that they sang it right through five times in succession, and might have continued singing it all night if they had not been interrupted.
| dream | sen, marzenie |
| last night | ostatnia noc |
| cannot | nie mogę |
| to describe | opisywać |
| earth | Ziemia |
| when | kiedy |
| to vanish | znikać |
| to remind | przypominać |
| something | coś |
| long | dawno, długo |
| to forget | zapominać |
| many years ago | wiele lat temu |
| little | mały |
| pig | świnia |
| sow | locha, maciora |
| to be used to | być przyzwyczajonym do |
| to sing | śpiewać |
| an old song | stara piosenka |
| tune | melodia |
| first | pierwszy |
| word | słowo |
| infancy | wczesne dzieciństwo |
| to pass out | mdleć |
| mind | umysł |
| however | |
| it came back | powróciła |
| I am certain | jestem pewien |
| memory | pamięć |
| in memory of | ku pamięci |
| generation | pokolenie, generacja |
| voice | głos |
| hoarse | zachrypły, ochrypły |
| to teach (taught) | uczyć |
| better | lepiej |
| It is called | nazywa się |
| beast | zwierzę, zwierz (też : bestia, potwór) |
| old | stary |
| to cleare one’s throat | odchrząkiwać |
| to begin | rozpoczynać |
| well enough | wystarczająco dobrze |
| stirring | poruszający |
| between | pomiędzy |
| to run | biec |
| land | ziemia, ląd |
| joyful | radosny, uradowany |
| tide | pływ, fala |
| golden | złoty |
| future time | czas przyszły |
| soon or late | wcześniej czy później |
| day | dzień |
| to come | nadchodzić |
| tyrant | tyran |
| fruitful | owocny |
| field | pole |
| to tread (trod) | stąpać |
| alone | samemu |
| ring | pierścień, obrączka |
| nose | nos |
| harness | uprząż |
| back | plecy, grzbiet |
| bit | wędzidło |
| spur | ostroga |
| to rust | rdzewieć, zrdzewieć |
| cruel | okropny |
| whip | bat, bit, pejcz |
| to crack | trzaskać |
| riches | bogactwa |
| mind | umysł |
| Riches more than mind can picture | bogactwa większe, niż rozum może sobie wyobrazić |
| wheat | pszenica |
| barley | jęczmień |
| oats | owies |
| hay | siano |
| clover | koniczyna |
| bean | fasola |
| ours | nasze |
| bright | jasny |
| to shine | świecić |
| pure | czysty |
| water | woda |
| sweet | słodki |
| to blow | wiać, dmuchać |
| breeze | wietrzyk |
| to set free | uwalniać |
| to labour | mozolic się, ciężko harować |
| though | pomimo, mimo, że |
| to die | umierać |
| cow | krowa |
| horse | koń |
| goose (geese) | gęś |
| turkey | indyk |
| to toil | trudzić się |
| for freedom’s sake | dla wolności, ze względu na wolność |
| singing | śpiewanie |
| into | w |
| wildest | najdzikszy |
| excitement | podniecenie, podekscytowanie |
| almost | prawie |
| to reache the end | dochodzić do końca |
| for themselves | dla samych siebie |
| stupidest | najgłupszy |
| even | nawet |
| already | już |
| picked up the tune | nauczyły się melodii |
| a few of the words | kilka słów |
| entire | cały |
| by heart | na pamięć |
| within | w przeciągu |
| preliminary | wstępny |
| try (tries) | próba |
| whole | cały |
| farm | farma, gospodarstwo |
| tremendous | olbrzymi, ogromny, wspaniały |
| in unison | zgodnie |
| to whine | skomleć |
| sheep | owca |
| to bleat | beczeć |
| duck | kaczka |
| to quack | kwakać |
| delighted | zachwycony |
| five times in succession | pięć razy z rzędu |
| all night | całą noc |
| to continue | kontynuować |
| to interrupt | przerywać |