Animal Farm
動物農(nóng)場
Chapter 1
第一章
Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night,but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes.With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard,kicked off his boots at the back door,drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in thescullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring.
Jones先生是莊園農(nóng)場的主人，晚上他關(guān)了雞舍準(zhǔn)備過夜，但是喝的醉醺醺的忘了鎖住小門。Jones先生提著光影晃動的馬燈，蹣跚的穿過院子，來到后門踢掉靴子，從廚房的酒桶中倒了最一杯啤酒喝掉，然后上了床，Jones太太早已經(jīng)打起了鼾聲。
As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings.Word had gone round during the day that old Major,the prize Middle White boar, had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major(so he was always called, though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quiteready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say.
臥式的燈剛剛熄滅，整個農(nóng)舍就開始騷動起來。白天有傳言說Old Major昨天晚上做了個很奇怪的夢，想跟動物們談?wù)?，Old Major是一頭中等白色獲過獎的公豬。動物們都決定等Jones先生確定離開后在大谷倉里碰面。Old Major（一直被這么稱呼，盡管以前參展時名字叫Willingdon Beauty。）在農(nóng)場中一直備受推崇，動物們都決定少睡一個小時來聽它要跟大家說些什么。
At one end of the big barn, on asort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam. He was 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 hadnever been cut. Before long the other animals began to arrive and make themselves comfortable after their different fashions. First came 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 laydown behind the pigs and began to chew the cud. The two cart-horses, Boxer and Clover, came in together, walking very slowly 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 he was not of first-rate intelligence, but he was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powersof 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 atail 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 to laugh 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 sideand never speaking.
在大谷倉一頭凸起的平臺上，橫梁上懸掛著馬燈，下邊Old Major已經(jīng)躺在它的稻草床上。它已經(jīng)有十二歲了，最近又長肥了很多，盡管犬牙一直沒被切過，但是長相聰明和善，看起來仍然是頭威風(fēng)凜凜的豬。不久后，動物們陸續(xù)到來，它們根據(jù)自己的情況慢慢安頓下來。首先來的是三條狗，Bluebell、Jessie和Pincher，然后是豬，坐在平臺前面稻草上。母雞棲息在窗臺上，鴿子飛到梁椽上，綿羊和奶牛臥在豬的后邊開始反芻。兩匹駕馬車的馬，Boxer跟Clover一塊慢慢走進(jìn)來，小心翼翼的落下毛茸茸的大蹄子，以免有小動物藏在稻草中。Clover是頭強(qiáng)壯的中年母馬，生了四次馬駒后體型再也恢復(fù)不到從前。Boxer是頭巨大的野獸，接近18掌高，跟兩匹普通的馬加起來一樣強(qiáng)壯。它鼻子下邊的白條紋看起來有點(diǎn)蠢，事實(shí)上它雖然不是最聰明的，但是性格沉穩(wěn)和強(qiáng)大的勞動能力讓它受到大家的普遍尊重。馬兒進(jìn)來后，接下來是白山羊Muriel和驢子Benjamin。Benjamin是農(nóng)場里最老的動物，也是脾氣最差的。它很少說話，就算說也是些憤世嫉俗的話，好比它會說上帝給了它一條尾巴讓它驅(qū)趕蒼蠅，但是它寧愿沒有尾巴跟蒼蠅。在農(nóng)場的動物中它都是獨(dú)來獨(dú)往從來沒有笑過。如果你問它為什么不笑，它會說沒什么可笑的。盡管這樣，雖然沒有公開承認(rèn)過，但它是Boxer忠實(shí)的好朋友。它們倆經(jīng)常在果園外的小牧場上一起度過星期天，并排放牧從不說話。
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 flirtingher 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.
兩匹馬兒剛臥下，一群沒了母鴨的雛鴨就進(jìn)來了，柔弱無力、四處徘徊地想找個不會被踩到的地方。Clover用它巨大的前腿像墻一樣圍住雛鴨們，雛鴨依偎在里邊很快就睡著了。最后一刻來的是給Jones先生駕車的傻傻的白母馬Mollie，它嚼著方糖塊裝作優(yōu)雅的走進(jìn)來，找了塊靠前的地方開始擺動它的白鬃毛，希望大家注意到它編辮的紅緞帶。最后進(jìn)來的是貓，它像往常一樣四處找最暖和的地方，最后擠到了Boxer跟Clover中間，然后滿足的發(fā)出咕嚕聲，在Old Major講話的時候一個字都沒有聽進(jìn)去。
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:
所有的動物都到齊了，除了被馴養(yǎng)的烏鴉Moses，它睡在后門后邊的棲木上。Old
Major看到大家都安定下來認(rèn)真的地等著，清了清嗓子開始講話：
"Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, thatI shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.
“同志們，你們已經(jīng)聽說過我昨晚做了個怪夢，但是我之后再談夢的事。我有些事要先說，同志們，我可能跟大家在一起沒幾個月了，在我死之前，我認(rèn)為我有責(zé)任把我獲得的智慧傳授給你們，我已經(jīng)活了很長的時間，當(dāng)我獨(dú)自待在畜欄的時候也思考了很長的時間，我想說我理解這片土地上的生命和所有活著的動物們的生活本質(zhì)，我想跟你們講講這些事?！?/p>
"Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable,laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.”
“那么同志們，什么是我們現(xiàn)在生活的本質(zhì)呢？讓我們來看看吧：我們的生活是痛苦，艱苦和短暫的。當(dāng)我們被生下來，只得到很少的食物來支持身體的呼吸，有能力的都被強(qiáng)迫去勞動到筋疲力盡；而在我們的用途結(jié)束的一刻，就被殘酷的屠殺。英格蘭的動物在一歲之后根本不知道幸?；蛘咝蓍e。英格蘭的動物都是不自由的。動物的生活是悲慘的和被奴役的：這是顯而易見的事實(shí)?！?/p>
"But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The soil of England is fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows,hundreds of sheep-and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Manfrom the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever.
“但是，難道這僅僅是大自然秩序的一部分么？難道是因?yàn)槲覀兊耐恋厥秦汃さ?，無法給住在它上面的生命提供一份體面的生活么？不，同志們，絕對不是!英格蘭的土壤是肥沃的，氣候是適宜的，它能夠給比現(xiàn)在居住在這更多的動物們提供充裕的食物。僅僅我們的農(nóng)場就能供養(yǎng)12匹馬，20只奶牛和上百只綿羊，而且它們還可以生活的幾乎超過我們想象的舒服和有尊嚴(yán)。那么為什么我們還是過著這樣悲慘的生活呢？因?yàn)槲覀儎趧拥漠a(chǎn)物幾乎都被人類竊取了。同志們，這就是問題的原因?？偨Y(jié)起來就是一個詞-人類。只有人類是我們真正的敵人，只要沒有了人類，饑餓和過度工作的根源就能永遠(yuǎn)拔除?！?/p>
"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weakto pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lordof all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me,how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest 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 support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold ata year old-you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?
“只有人類是不生產(chǎn)就能享受的生物。他們不生產(chǎn)牛奶，不下蛋，他們太虛弱拉不動犁，他們也跑的不夠快抓不到兔子。然而他們是動物的主人。他們讓動物去勞動，只給它們不至于餓死的少量食物，然后剩下的都留給自己。我們的勞動耕耘了土壤，糞便使它肥沃，但是我們中沒有動物比人類的肚皮吃到更多的食物。我前邊的奶牛們，你們最近一年生產(chǎn)了幾千加侖的牛奶呢？這些本應(yīng)該用來哺育牛犢的奶都被怎么處理了呢？每滴牛奶都被我們的敵人喝了。還有母雞們，最近一年你們產(chǎn)了多少的雞蛋？又有多少雞蛋用來孵化小雞呢？剩下的雞蛋都被送到商店給Jones先生和手下?lián)Q了錢。還有你，Clover，你生的4只本應(yīng)該在你年紀(jì)大了給你幫助和快樂的馬駒去哪了？它們都在一歲的時候被賣了，你再也看不到它們了。對于你四次生育還有在這片土地勞動的回報(bào)，除了空空的食物和畜欄還得到過什么呢？”
"And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the 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 will sell you to the knacker,who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs,when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.
“然而總是我們過著悲慘的生活，還是不能得以善終。因?yàn)槲沂切疫\(yùn)的，所以我沒有怨言，我活了12歲擁過400多個孩子，這是一頭豬的自然生命。但是沒有動物能夠逃脫殘酷的一刀。你們這些坐在我面前的年輕的小豬，一年內(nèi)每頭都會在街區(qū)里尖叫著結(jié)束生命。我們要面對的這殘酷的事，奶牛，狗，母雞，綿羊和所有動物。縱使馬跟狗也沒有好的下場。Boxer在你的肌肉不再強(qiáng)壯之后，Jones就會把你賣給屠夫，他會切開你的喉嚨，把你煮給獵狗。至于狗，當(dāng)他們老的沒牙了，Jones會把它們綁塊磚頭扔到最近的湖里?！?/p>
"Is it not crystal clear, then,comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could 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 that Rebellion willcome, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as Isee this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious.
“同志們，我們生活中的罪惡都源于人類的暴政，這些還不夠清楚么？只有除掉人類，我們勞動的果實(shí)才能被我們所有。我們一夜之間就能變得富有和自由。那么我們接下來必須做什么呢？我們要日夜勞動，全身心的投入，為了推翻人類！這是我要告訴你們的，同志們，反抗吧！我不知道反抗什么時候會到來，或許在一周之內(nèi)或者一百年之內(nèi)，但是我確信就像我看見我腳下的稻草一樣，正義遲早會到來的。同志們，在你們短暫的一生中，一定要把目光集中在這一點(diǎn)，尤其是記得要把我的話傳給后輩，讓后代們也進(jìn)行斗爭直至取得勝利?！?/p>
“同志們，要記住永遠(yuǎn)不要動搖你們的決心。沒有任何觀點(diǎn)能讓你們迷途。永遠(yuǎn)不要相信人類說的動物跟人類都是為了共同繁榮的有共同的利益，這些都是謊言。人類只會為了他們自己的利益。而我們動物之間團(tuán)結(jié)一致，戰(zhàn)友情深。所有人類都是敵人，所有動物都是同胞。”
At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four large rats had crept out oftheir holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence.
這時候動物們中發(fā)生一陣躁動。原來在Old Major講話的時候，四只大老鼠也爬出洞口坐在后腿上聽著講話。狗突然看見了老鼠，幸虧它們竄到洞里才保住一命。Old Major舉起豬蹄讓大家安靜。
"Comrades," he said,"here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits-are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?"
“同志們，”O(jiān)ld Major說，“現(xiàn)在我們有個問題要解決。例如老鼠跟兔子這些野生動物，它們算是我們的朋友還是敵人呢？讓我們來投票決定，我提議大家開會討論這個問題：老鼠算是我們的同志么？”
The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were onlyfour dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered tohave voted on both sides.
很快進(jìn)行了投票，大家絕大多數(shù)都同意老鼠是同胞。只有四票不同意，它們是三只狗和一只貓，后來還發(fā)現(xiàn)貓既投了同意也投了不同意。
Major continued:"I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Manand all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes uponfour legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even , do not adopt his vices.No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, ordrink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal mustever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.”
Old Major繼續(xù)講話：“我沒什么可說的了，我只重復(fù)一次，永遠(yuǎn)記住要仇恨對人類和他們生活方式。任何用兩條腿走路的都是敵人。任何用四條腿或者有翅膀的都是朋友。而且要記住為了反抗人類，我們一定不能像人類一樣。甚至不能養(yǎng)出他們的惡習(xí)。禁止動物住在房子里，睡在床上，穿衣服，喝酒，抽煙，碰錢和經(jīng)商。人類所有的習(xí)慣都是邪惡的。尤其是，禁止動物對同類施行暴政。無論虛弱還是強(qiáng)壯，聰明與否，我們都是同胞，禁止動物殘殺其他動物。所有動物一律平等?！?/p>
"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."
“現(xiàn)在，同志們，我來告訴你們我昨晚做的夢，我無法像你們描述那個夢。我夢中的是人類最終消失后的土地。但是它讓我想起了已經(jīng)遺忘很久的事。很多年前，當(dāng)我還是小豬的時候，我媽媽跟其他母豬們總唱一首只知道旋律跟前三個單詞的歌。在我小時候就知道那個旋律，但是它早就從我的腦海中消失了。昨晚，夢中回響起這個旋律。而且這首歌的歌詞也背了出來，我很確定，這首歌是很久以前動物們唱的歌，已經(jīng)被遺忘了很多代。我現(xiàn)在給你們唱這首歌，同志們，我雖然年老聲音也很嘶啞，但是當(dāng)我教給你們旋律，你們自己可以唱的更好，這首歌叫做英格蘭之獸?！?/p>
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,
joyful tidings
Of the golden future time.
Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be overthrown,
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.
Old Major清了清嗓子開始唱，正如它說的，嗓子已經(jīng)嘶啞，但是已經(jīng)唱的夠好了，這是一首振奮人心地曲子，大概風(fēng)格介于Clementine和La Cucaracha之間。歌詞是：
英格蘭之獸，愛爾蘭之獸，
所有土地和環(huán)境中的野獸，
聽聽我?guī)淼暮孟?/p>
關(guān)于未來的黃金世界。
遲早這天會來到，
人類的統(tǒng)治會被推翻，
英格蘭富饒的土地
只留給野獸們踩踏。
我們鼻子上的鐵環(huán)將會消失，
我們背上的馬具，
鉆頭和馬刺將會永遠(yuǎn)生銹，
起殘酷的鞭打聲不會再響起。
展望富饒的未來吧，
小麥和大麥，燕麥和干草，
苜蓿，豆子和甜菜，
都屬于我們。
陽光會灑遍英格蘭大地，
水是純凈的，
微風(fēng)吹來是甜美的，
在我們自由到來的那天。
為了那天的來到我們都要勞動，
盡管我們會死在那天到來之前；
奶牛和駿馬，
鵝和火雞，
都必須為了自由而努力。
英格蘭之獸，愛爾蘭之獸，
所有土地和環(huán)境中的野獸，
聽聽我?guī)淼暮孟ⅲ?/p>
關(guān)于未來的黃金世界。
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 insuccession, and might have continued singing it all night if they had not been interrupted.
這首歌讓動物們興奮不已。還沒等Old Major唱完，大家就開始自己唱起來。即使最笨的也能掌握旋律唱出一些歌詞，至于聰明的，比如豬跟狗們幾分鐘之內(nèi)就已經(jīng)把整首歌牢記于心。在預(yù)唱幾次之后，整個農(nóng)場響起整齊的英格蘭之獸的旋律。奶牛低哞，狗哀嚎，綿羊咩咩，馬兒嘶鳴，鴨子呱呱。大家已經(jīng)高興地合唱了五遍，如果不是被打斷的話要?dú)g唱整晚。
Unfortunately, the uproar awoke Mr.Jones, who sprang out of bed, making sure that there was a fox in the yard. He seized the gun which always stood in a corner of his bedroom, and let fly a charge of number 6 shot into the darkness. The pellets buried themselves in the wall of the barn and the meeting broke up hurriedly. Everyone fled to his ownsleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment.
不巧的是，動物們的喧囂聲吵醒了Jones先生，他跳下床看是否有狐貍溜到了院子里。他抓起一直放在床邊的槍，朝著夜色中打了發(fā)六號子彈。槍丸打到谷倉的墻中，動物們的會議倉促結(jié)束。大家趕緊逃回棲息地。鳥兒撲騰到椽子上，動物們溜回稻草里，整個農(nóng)場瞬間陷入沉寂的夢鄉(xiāng)。
