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Every week, I will propose to you an entire chapter of a book that is available in English and in French. Everyone will be able to read in their own language and have a translation on the other side. I personally think this is one of the best ways to learn (by reading, listening,

and memorizing.) I will give you every week a chapter of a book that I like. The series will end when we will reach the end of the book (depending on the chapters number).

Les Animaux de la Ferme

Par George Orwell

Version Franaise

Animal Farm

By George Orwell

ish Version

Note I did not translate this text myself I just rearrange so eve ble to have a look on the

English and French version, on the same page graph. If you have any comments or request, please send me and latguard-fpc@yahoo.fr

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Chapitre 1

Le propritaire de la Ferme du Manoir, Mr. Jones, avait pouss le verrou des poulaillers, mais il tait bien trop saoul pour stre rappel dabattre les trappes. Sclairant de gauche et de droite avec sa lanterne, cest en titubant quil traversa la cour. Il entreprit de se dchausser, donnant du pied contre la porte de la cuisine, tira au tonneau un dernier verre de bire et se hissa dans le lit o tait Mrs Jones dj en train de ronfler.

Ds que fut teinte la lumire de la chambre, ce fut travers les btiments de la ferme un bruissement dailes et bientt tout un remue-mnage. Dans la journe, la rumeur stait rpandue que Sage lAncien avait t visit, au cours de la nuit prcdente, par un rve trange dont il dsirait entretenir les autres animaux. Sage lAncien tait un cochon qui, en son jeune temps, avait t proclam laurat de sa catgorie il avait concouru sous le nom de Beaut de Willingdon, mais pour tout le monde il tait Sage lAncien. Il avait t convenu que tous les animaux se retrouveraient dans la grange ds que Mr. Jones se serait clips. Et Sage lAncien tait si profondment vnr que chacun tait prt prendre sur son sommeil pour savoir ce quil avait dire.

Lui-mme avait dj pris place lune des extrmits de la grange, sur une sorte destrade (cette estrade tait son lit de paille clair par une lanterne suspendue une poutre). Il avait douze ans, et avec lge avait pris de lembonpoint, mais il en imposait encore, et on lui trouvait un air raisonnable, bienveillant mme, malgr ses canines intactes. Bientt les autres animaux se prsentrent, et ils se mirent laise, chacun suivant les lois de son espce. Ce furent : dabord le chien Filou et les deux chiennes qui se nommaient Fleur et Constance, et ensuite les cochons qui se vautrrent sur la paille, face lestrade. Les poules allrent se percher sur des appuis de fentres et les pigeons sur les chevrons du toit. Vaches et moutons se placrent derrire les cochons, et l se prirent ruminer. Puis deux chevaux de trait, Malabar et Douce, firent leur entre. Ils avancrent petits pas prcautionneux, posant avec dlicatesse leurs nobles sabots sur la paille, de peur quune petite bte ou lautre sy ft tapie.

Chapter 1 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.

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 hours sleep in order to hear what he had to say.

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.

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Douce tait une superbe matrone entre deux ges qui, depuis la naissance de son quatrime poulain, navait plus retrouv la silhouette de son jeune temps. Quant Malabar : une norme bte, forte comme nimporte quels deux chevaux. Une longue raie blanche lui tombait jusquaux naseaux, ce qui lui donnait un air un peu bta ; et, de fait, Malabar ntait pas gnial. Nanmoins, chacun le respectait parce quon pouvait compter sur lui et quil abattait une besogne fantastique. Vinrent encore Edme, la chvre blanche, et Benjamin, lne. Benjamin tait le plus vieil animal de la ferme et le plus acaritre. Peu expansif, quand il sexprimait ctait en gnral par boutades cyniques. Il dclarait, par exemple, que Dieu lui avait bien donn une queue pour chasser les mouches, mais quil aurait beaucoup prfr navoir ni queue ni mouches. De tous les animaux de la ferme, il tait le seul ne jamais rire. Quand on lui demandait pourquoi, il disait quil ny a pas de quoi rire. Pourtant, sans vouloir en convenir, il tait lami dvou de Malabar. Ces deux-l passaient dhabitude le dimanche ensemble, dans le petit enclos derrire le verger, et sans un mot broutaient de compagnie.

A peine les deux chevaux staient-ils tendus sur la paille quune couve de canetons, ayant perdu leur mre, firent irruption dans la grange, et tous ils piaillaient de leur petite voix et sgaillaient et l, en qute du bon endroit o personne ne leur marcherait dessus. Douce leur fit un rempart de sa grande jambe, ils sy blottirent et sendormirent bientt. la dernire minute, une autre jument, rpondant au nom de Lubie (la jolie follette blanche que Mr. Jones attelle son cabriolet) se glissa lintrieur de la grange en mchonnant un sucre. Elle se plaa sur le devant et fit des mines avec sa crinire blanche, enrubanne de rouge. Enfin ce fut la chatte. sa faon habituelle, elle jeta sur lassemble un regard circulaire, guignant la bonne place chaude. Pour finir, elle se coula entre Douce et Malabar. Sur quoi elle ronronna de contentement, et du discours de Sage lAncien nentendit pas un tratre mot.

Tous les animaux taient maintenant au rendez-vous sauf Mose, un corbeau apprivois qui sommeillait sur un perchoir, prs de la porte de derrire et les voyant laise et bien attentifs, Sage lAncien se racla la gorge puis commena en ces termes :

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 remarkfor 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.

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. Joness trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar. She took a place near the front and began flirting her 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 Majors speech without listening to a word of what he was saying.

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:

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Camarades, vous avez dj entendu parler du rve trange qui mest venu la nuit dernire. Mais jy reviendrai tout lheure Jai dabord quelque chose dautre vous dire. Je ne compte pas, camarades, passer encore de longs mois parmi vous Mais avant de mourir, je voudrais macquitter dun devoir, car je dsire vous faire profiter de la sagesse quil ma t donn dacqurir. Au cours de ma longue existence, jai eu, dans le calme de la porcherie, tout loisir de mditer. Je crois tre en mesure de laffirmer : jai, sur la nature de la vie en ce monde, autant de lumires que tout autre animal. Cest de quoi je dsire vous parler.

Quelle est donc, camarades, la nature de notre existence ? Regardons les choses en face nous avons une vie de labeur, une vie de misre, une vie trop brve. Une fois au monde, il nous est tout juste donn de quoi survivre, et ceux dentre nous qui ont la force voulue sont astreints au travail jusqu ce quils rendent lme. Et dans linstant que nous cessons dtre utiles, voici quon nous gorge avec une cruaut inqualifiable. Passe notre premire anne sur cette terre, il ny a pas un seul animal qui entrevoie ce que signifient des mots comme loisir ou bonheur. Et quand le malheur laccable, ou la servitude, pas un animal qui soit libre. Telle est la simple vrit.

Et doit-il en tre tout uniment ainsi par un dcret de la nature ? Notre pays est-il donc si pauvre quil ne puisse procurer ceux qui lhabitent une vie digne et dcente ? Non, camarades, mille fois non ! Fertile est le sol de lAngleterre et propice son climat. Il est possible de nourrir dans labondance un nombre danimaux bien plus considrable que ceux qui vivent ici. Cette ferme elle seule pourra pourvoir aux besoins dune douzaine de chevaux, dune vingtaine de vaches, de centaine de moutons tous vivant dans laisance une vie honorable. Le hic, cest que nous avons le plus grand mal imaginer chose pareille. Mais, puisque telle est la triste ralit, pourquoi en sommes-nous toujours vgter dans un tat pitoyable ? Parce que tout le produit de notre travail, ou presque, est vol par les humains ; Camarades, l se trouve la rponse nos problmes. Tout tient en un mot : lHomme Car lHomme est notre seul vritable ennemi Quon le supprime, et voici extirpe la racine du mal. Plus trimer sans relche ! Plus de meurt-la-faim !

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.

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 sheepand 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 wordMan. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.

4

LHomme est la seule crature qui consomme sans produire. Il ne

donne pas de lait, il ne pond pas dufs, il est trop dbile pour pousser la charrue, bien trop lent pour attraper un lapin. Pourtant le voici le suzerain de tous les animaux. Il distribue les tches : entre eux, mais ne leur donne en retour que la maigre pitance qui les maintient en vie. Puis il garde pour lui le surplus. Qui laboure le sol : Nous ! Qui le fconde ? Notre fumier ! Et pourtant pas un parmi nous qui nait que sa peau pour tout bien. Vous, les vaches l devant moi, combien de centaines dhectolitres de lait navez-vous pas produit lanne dernire ? Et quest-il advenu de ce lait qui vous aurait permis dlever vos petits, de leur donner force et vigueur ? De chaque goutte lennemi sest dlect et rassasi. Et vous les poules, combien dufs navez-vous pas pondus cette anne-ci ? Et combien de ces ufs avez-vous couvs ? Tous les autres ont t vendus au march, pour enrichir Jones et ses gens ! Et toi, Douce, o sont les quatre poulains que tu as ports, qui auraient t la consolation de tes vieux jours ? Chacun deux fut vendu lge dun an, et plus jamais tu ne les reverras ! En change de tes quatre maternits et du travail aux champs, que ta-t-on donn ? De strictes rations de foin plus un box dans ltable !

Et mme nos vies misrables steignent avant le terme. Quant moi, je nai pas de hargne, tant de ceux qui ont eu de la chance. Me voici dans ma treizime anne, jai eu plus de quatre cents enfants. Telle est la vie normale chez les cochons, mais la fin aucun animal nchappe au couteau infme. Vous autres, jeunes porcelets assis l et qui mcoutez, dans les douze mois chacun de vous, sur le point dtre excut, hurlera datroce souffrance. Et cette horreur et cette fin, nous sommes tous astreints vaches et cochons, moutons et poules, et personne nest exempt. Les chevaux eux-mmes et les chiens nont pas un sort plus enviable Toi, Malabar, le jour o tes muscles fameux nauront plus leur force ni leur emploi, Jones te vendra lquarrisseur, et lquarrisseur te tranchera la gorge ; il fera bouillir tes restes petit feu, et il en nourrira la meute de ses chiens. Quant aux chiens eux-mmes, une fois dents et hors dge, Jones leur passe une grosse pierre au cou et les noie dans ltang le plus proche

Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does

not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of 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 at a year oldyou 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?

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 comecows, 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.

5

Camarades, est-ce que ce nest pas clair comme de leau de roche ? Tous les maux de notre vie sont dus lHomme, notre tyran. Dbarrassons-nous de lHomme, et ntre sera le produit de notre travail. Cest presque du jour au lendemain que nous pourrions devenir libres et riches. cette fin, que faut-il ? Eh bien, travailler de jour et de nuit, corps et me, renverser la race des hommes. Cest l mon message, camarades. Soulevons-nous ! Quand aura lieu le soulvement, cela je lignore : dans une semaine peut-tre ou dans un sicle. Mais, aussi vrai que sous moi je sens de la paille, tt ou tard justice sera faite. Ne perdez pas de vue lobjectif, camarades, dans le temps compt qui vous reste vivre. Mais avant tout, faites part de mes convictions ceux qui viendront aprs vous, afin que les gnrations venir mnent la lutte jusqu la victoire finale.

Et souvenez-vous-en, camarades : votre rsolution ne doit jamais se

relcher. Nul argument ne vous fera prendre des vessies pour des lanternes. Ne prtez pas loreille ceux selon qui lHomme et les animaux ont des intrts communs, croire vraiment que de la prosprit de lun dpend celle des autres ? Ce ne sont que des mensonges. LHomme ne connat pas dautres intrts que les siens. Que donc prvalent, entre les animaux, au fil de la lutte, lunit parfaite et la camaraderie sans faille. Tous les hommes sont des ennemis. Les animaux entre eux sont tous camarades.

A ce moment-l, ce fut un vacarme terrifiant. Alors que Sage

lAncien terminait sa proraison rvolutionnaire, on vit quatre rats imposants, limproviste surgis de leurs trous et se tenant assis, lcoute. Les chiens les ayant aperus, ces rats ne durent le salut qu une prompte retraite vers leur tanire. Alors Sage lAncien leva une patte auguste pour rclamer le silence.

Camarades, dit-il, il y a une question trancher. Devons-nous

regarder les cratures sauvages, telles que rats et livres, comme des allies ou comme des ennemies ? Je vous propose den dcider. Que les prsents se prononcent sur la motion suivante Les rats sont-ils nos camarades ?

Derechef on vota, et une crasante majorit il fut dcid que les rats

seraient regards en camarades. Quatre voix seulement furent dun avis contraire : les trois chiens et la chatte (on le dcouvrit plus tard, celle-ci avait vot pour et contre). Sage lAncien reprit :

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 will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see 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.

And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No

argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.

At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was

speaking four large rats had crept out of their 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.

Comrades, he said, here is a point that must be settled. The wild

creatures, such as rats and rabbitsare they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?

The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming

majority that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides. Major continued:

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Jai peu ajouter. Je men tiendrai redire que vous avez montrer

en toutes circonstances votre hostilit envers lHomme et ses faons de faire. Tout Deuxpattes est un ennemi, tout Quatrepattes ou tout volatile est un ami. Ne perdez pas de vue non plus que la lutte elle-mme ne doit pas nous changer la ressemblance de lennemi. Mme aprs lavoir vaincu, gardons-nous de ses vices. Jamais animal nhabitera une maison, ne dormira dans un lit, ne portera de vtements, ne touchera lalcool ou au tabac, ni largent, ni ne fera ngoce. Toutes les murs de lHomme sont de mauvaises murs. Mais surtout, jamais un animal nen tyrannisera un autre. Quand tous sont frres, peu importe le fort ou le faible, lesprit profond ou simplet. Nul animal jamais ne tuera un autre animal. Tous les animaux sont gaux.

Maintenant, camarades, je vais vous dire mon rve de la nuit

dernire. Je ne mattarderai pas le dcrire vraiment. La terre mest apparue telle quune fois dlivre de lHomme, et cela ma fait me ressouvenir dune chose enfouie au fin fond de la mmoire. Il y a belle lurette, jtais encore cochon de lait, ma mre et les autres truies chantaient souvent une chanson dont elles ne savaient que lair et les trois premiers mots. Or, dans mon rve de la nuit dernire, cette chanson mest revenue avec toutes les paroles des paroles, jen suis sr, que jadis ont d chanter les animaux, avant quelles se perdent dans la nuit des temps. Mais maintenant, camarades, je vais la chanter pour vous. Je suis dun ge avanc, certes, et ma voix est rauque, mais quand vous aurez saisi lair, vous vous y retrouverez mieux que moi. Le titre, cest Btes dAngleterre.

Sage lAncien se racla la gorge et se mit chanter. Sa voix tait

rauque, ainsi quil avait dit, mais il se tira bien daffaire. Lair tenait dAmour toujours et de La Cucaracha, et on en peut dire quil tait plein de feu et dentrain. Voici les paroles de la chanson :

I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your

duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink 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 must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.

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:

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Btes dAngleterre et dIrlande, Animaux de tous les pays,

Prtez loreille lesprance Un ge dor vous est promis.

Lhomme tyran expropri,

Nos champs connatront labondance, De nous seuls ils seront fouls, Le jour vient de la dlivrance.

Plus danneaux qui pendent au nez,

Plus de harnais sur nos chines, Les fouets cruels sont retombs perons et morts sont en ruine.

Des fortunes mieux quen nos rves,

Dorge et de bl, de foin, oui da, De trfle, de pois et de raves Seront vous de ce jour-l.

O comme brillent tous nos champs,

Comme est plus pure leau dici, Plus doux aussi souffle le vent Du jour que lon est affranchi.

Vaches, chevaux, oies et dindons,

Bien que lon meure avant le temps, Ce jour-l prparez-le donc, Tout tre libre absolument.

Btes dAngleterre et dIrlande,

Animaux de tous les pays, Prtez loreille lesprance Un ge dor vous est promis.

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 oerthrown, 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 freedoms sake.

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,

Beasts of every land and clime, Hearken well and spread my tidings

Of the golden future time.

8

Davoir chant un chant pareil suscita chez les animaux lmotion, la

fivre et la frnsie. Sage lAncien navait pas entonn le dernier couplet que tous staient mis lunisson Mme les plus bouchs des animaux avaient attrap lair et jusqu des bribes de paroles. Les plus dlurs, tels que cochons et chiens, apprirent le tout par cur en quelques minutes. Et, aprs quelques rptitions improvises, la ferme entire retentit daccents martiaux, qui taient beuglements des vaches, aboiements des chiens, blements des moutons, hennissements des chevaux, couac-couac des canards. Btes dAngleterre, animaux de tous les pays : cest ce quils chantaient en chur leurs diffrentes faons, et dun tel enthousiasme quils sy reprirent cinq fois de suite et dun bout lautre. Si rien ntait venu arrter leur lan, ils se seraient exercs toute la nuit.

Malheureusement, Mr. Jones, rveill par le tapage, sauta en bas du

lit, persuad quun renard avait fait irruption dans la cour. Il se saisit de la carabine, quil gardait toujours dans un coin de la chambre coucher, et dans les tnbres dchargea une solide vole de plomb. Celle-ci se longea dans le mur de la grange, de sorte que la runion des animaux prit fin dans la confusion. Chacun regagna son habitat en grande hte : les Quatrepattes leurs lits de paille, les volatiles leurs perchoirs. Linstant daprs, toutes les cratures de la ferme sombraient dans le sommeil.

Fin du chapitre un

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.

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 own sleeping-place. The birds jumped on to their perches, the animals settled down in the straw, and the whole farm was asleep in a moment.

End of chapter one

9

Les Animaux de la FermePar George OrwellVersion FranaiseAnimal FarmBy George OrwellEnglish Version