《动物庄园》开篇：英文原著带中文翻译

Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes. 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 the scullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring.

庄园农场的琼斯先生已经把鸡舍锁上，准备过夜，可是他醉得太厉害，竟忘了关上那些供鸡进出的小洞。他手里提着的灯笼光晕左右摇晃，他本人也踉踉跄跄地穿过院子，在后门口踢掉靴子，又从洗碗间的酒桶里给自己倒了最后一杯啤酒，然后摸回床上，琼斯太太早已在那里打鼾了。

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 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 quite ready to lose an hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say.

卧室里的灯光刚一熄灭，整个农场的圈棚里便响起一阵骚动和扑腾。白天就有消息传开，说那头得过奖的米德尔怀特种猪老梅杰前一天夜里做了一个奇怪的梦，想把这个梦告诉别的动物。大家已经商量好，等琼斯先生一离开，就都到大谷仓里集合。老梅杰（大家一直这么叫他，尽管他当年参展时用的名字是威灵顿美人）在农场里极受敬重，所以人人都情愿少睡一个钟头，也要听听他有什么话要说。

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. 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 had never 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 lay down 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 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 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 side and never speaking.

在大谷仓的一头，一个稍稍垫高的台子上，梅杰已经安顿在自己的草铺上，头顶是一盏从横梁上垂下来的灯笼。他十二岁了，近来长得相当肥壮，但仍是一头气度威严的猪，尽管他的獠牙从未修剪过，看上去仍显得睿智而慈祥。没过多久，别的动物陆续到来，各自按自己的习惯舒舒服服地安顿下来。最先来的是三条狗，蓝铃、杰西和平彻，接着是猪，他们立刻在台子正前方的草堆里卧下。母鸡蹲在窗台上，鸽子扑腾着飞上房椽，绵羊和奶牛躺在猪的后面，开始反刍。两匹拉车的马，拳击手和苜蓿，一起走了进来，走得很慢，巨大的毛茸茸的蹄子落得格外小心，生怕草堆里藏着什么小动物。苜蓿是一匹健壮的母马，带着慈母般的气质，已近中年，生了第四胎小马驹后，身材一直没有完全恢复。拳击手是一头庞然大物，身高将近十八掌，力气抵得上两匹普通马加在一起。他鼻梁上有一道白条纹，使他看上去有点愚钝，事实上他的智力也确实算不上头等，但他性格沉稳，干活又有一股惊人的力气，因此普遍受到尊敬。马之后进来的是白山羊穆丽尔和驴子本杰明。本杰明是农场里最年长的动物，脾气也最坏。他很少说话，偶尔开口，通常也是说些愤世嫉俗的话，比如他会说，上帝给了他一条尾巴用来赶苍蝇，可他宁愿不要尾巴，也不要苍蝇。农场里的动物中，只有他从来不笑。要是有人问他为什么，他就说，他看不出有什么可笑的。尽管如此，他嘴上不承认，心里却对拳击手十分忠诚。他们两个通常每逢星期天就一起到果园那边的小牧场去，并排吃草，从不说话。