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:
‚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, that I 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.
‚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.
| to be present | być obecnym |
| except | poza |
| tame | oswojony |
| raven | kruk |
| a perch | grzęda |
| comfortable | wygodny, bezpieczny |
| attentively | uważnie |
| to clear | przeczyścić |
| throat | gardło |
| comrad | towarzysz |
| a strange dream | dziwny sen |
| first | najpierw |
| I do not think | naprawdę nie sądzę |
| I feel it my duty | odczuwam to jako mój obowiązek |
| to pass sth. to sb. | przekazać coś komuś |
| wisdom | mądrość |
| to acquire | posiąść |
| time for thought | czas do namysłu |
| a stall | przegroda, zagroda |
| the nature of life | istota życia |
| as well as | tak samo jak |
| it’s about this | o tym |
| to face sth. | przyjrzeć się czemuś, zmierzyć się z czymś |
| miserable | nędzny |
| laborious | naznaczony ciężką pracą |
| we are given | daje się nam |
| just so much as | akurat tyle, żeby |
| breath | oddech |
| to breathe | oddychać |
| body, bodies | ciało |
| those of us | ci z nas |
| to be capable of doing sth. | być w stanie coś zrobić |
| to force to work | zmuszać do pracy |
| to the last atom of our strength | do upadłego |
| instant | natychmiastowy |
| usefulness | użyteczność |
| to come to an end | skończyć się, zbliżyć się do końca |
| to be slaughtered | zostać zarżniętym |
| hideous | w obrzydliwy sposób |
| cruelty | okrucieństwo |
| the meaning of happiness | znaczenia słowa ‚szczęście’ |
| leisure | wolny czas |
| to be a year old | ukończyć rok |
| misery | niedola, ubóstwo |
| slavery | niewola |
| That is the plain truth | Oto cała prawda. |
| Dodatkowe wyrażenia | |
| face-to-face | twarzą w twarz |
| in the face of | w obliczu |
| to make faces | robić miny |
| to face the fact that | przyjąć co wiadomości, że |
| faceless | anonimowy |
| to lose face | stracić twarz |
| to save face | zachować twarz |