大谷倉(cāng)的一角有一塊地勢(shì)較高的平臺(tái)，上面鋪著稻草墊子，老上校已經(jīng)舒服地坐在那里，頭上的橫梁掛著一盞馬燈。老上校已經(jīng)十二歲了，最近身材有些走樣，但看上去仍然威嚴(yán)不減。雖然獠牙未曾修剪過(guò)，但他的面容并不兇狠，反而透露出智慧和仁愛(ài)。沒(méi)多久，伙伴們陸續(xù)到達(dá)谷倉(cāng)，并且各自找了個(gè)舒服的位置落座。最先到的是狗狗三兄弟（布魯貝爾、杰西和品徹），然后是豬豬們，他們剛到就迅速趴在平臺(tái)前的稻草墊子上。母雞匍匐在窗沿，鴿子撲棱著飛到屋椽，綿羊和母牛則躺臥在豬豬身后開(kāi)始消化食物。還有兩位馬車(chē)伙夫兄弟（布克瑟和克萊弗）拖著緩慢的步伐結(jié)伴前來(lái)，他們每次都小心翼翼地踏下毛茸茸的大腳，生怕踩到哪位藏在草墊里的小伙伴。年近中年的克萊弗是一匹已受孕的發(fā)福母馬，自從她懷上第四胎寶寶后身形就再也沒(méi)有恢復(fù)過(guò)來(lái)。而體型健壯的布克瑟有近兩米高的個(gè)頭，看上去有兩匹馬加起來(lái)這么壯。鼻子周?chē)囊蝗Π咨y路讓他看起來(lái)很傻，的確他并不是特別聰明，但是他卻憑借堅(jiān)毅的性格和賣(mài)力的勞作為眾人尊重。隨后到達(dá)的是白山羊穆里爾和傻驢本杰明。本杰明在整個(gè)莊園里年紀(jì)最長(zhǎng)，同時(shí)是脾氣最差的那位。他寡言少語(yǔ)，一旦開(kāi)口又多是對(duì)他人評(píng)頭論足的譏諷之語(yǔ)，比如他會(huì)說(shuō)上帝賦予他一條尾巴以驅(qū)趕飛蠅，但他寧肯啥也不要。他也是莊園里唯一一個(gè)從未開(kāi)口笑過(guò)的，每當(dāng)問(wèn)及原因，他總說(shuō)無(wú)事可笑。不過(guò)他對(duì)布克瑟卻情有獨(dú)鐘，雖未公開(kāi)表態(tài)過(guò)，但他倆總是相約周日去果園后的小牧場(chǎng)，在那一言不發(fā)地挨著對(duì)方吃草。
At one end of the big barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. Hewas twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout, but he was still a majestic-looking pig, with a wise and benevolent appearance in spite of the fact that his tushes had never been cut. Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. Firstcame the three dogs, Bluebell, Jessie and Pincher, and then the pigs, who settled down in the straw immediately in front of the platform. The hens perched themselves on the window-sills, the pigeons fluttered up to the rafters, the sheep and cows lay down behind the pigs and began to chew thecud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, came in together, walking veryslowly and setting down their vast hairy hoofs with great care lest there should be some small animal concealed in the straw. Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal. Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. A white stripe down his nose gave him a somewhat stupid appearance, and in fact hewas not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work. After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did it was usually to make some cynical remark－for instance he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed. If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing tolaugh at. Nevertheless, without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer; the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.
