Animal Farm Lines

CLARA. None, he took them all.

Minty, your flock, your brothers. What happened to them?

As the ANIMALS sing, FARMER JONES emerges from the

farmhouse. He sees OLD MAJOR, who stands proud. FARMER

JONES grabs OLD MAJOR and pushes him to the ground. He takes

out a long knife and slits OLD MAJOR’ s throat. OLD MAJOR

squeals horribly.

NAPOLEON and SNOWBALL run to OLD MAJOR’ s side. The other

ANIMALS watch.

Major!

NAPOLEON. No, no, no.

Major?

BOXER. Is… Is he…?

He’s gone

CLOVER. No…

He killed him. Jones killed him.

The ANIMALS carry out a funeral procession for OLD MAJOR. They

pour earth onto the ground. SNOWBALL and NAPOLEON drop a

handful of dirt.

13The ANIMALS disperse, leaving SNOWBALL and NAPOLEON by the

graveside.

He’d be proud

NAPOLEON. We were too late.

For him. Not for us.

NAPOLEON. He died in the dirt, like he lived.

I know. But we won’t. None of us will. He was right,

about everything.

NAPOLEON. He always was.

(with a laugh). He’d’ve liked seeing Jones run scared

like that.

NAPOLEON. I liked seeing Jones run scared like that.

We need to start making a plan. Get the harvest in.

NAPOLEON. I know.

Running the farm’s a different thing to taking it. They’re

gonna look to us.

NAPOLEON. I know.

We’ll figure it out. (Beat.) I’m gonna get started on an

inventory, you can join me.

NAPOLEON. Yeah.

Hey –

He embraces NAPOLEON.

It’s our farm now.

CLARA. The laws by which we must all live, forever after.

Number One! Anything that walks on two legs is an

enemy.

BOXER. And you’ve written all of that up there?

Exactly!

NAPOLEON. Now, an update on the hay harvest. We’re making record

time, on track for the fastest harvest in years. Faster than Jones by a

mile.

A round of applause.

We’ve both been talking about next steps for the farm,

and we think we oughta do this more often. Meeting all together, like

this. Once a week, on a Sunday?

BENJAMIN. Every bloody week?

Now this whole entire farm is ours…

Some cheers, laughter.

We have to decide how to run it. And make sure we do a better job

than Jones did. And that means making a lot of decisions. Now, it

seems to me the fairest thing is if everyone can make suggestions, and

then everyone gets to decide what we do. We all take a vote.

CLOVER. So we all get equal say?

Exactly. All animals are equal.

This is an exciting, novel idea.

Well, let’s try it. All those in favour of weekly meetings?

SQUEALER. That’s unanimous.

A cheer.

So. Would anybody like to kick us off with a proposition?

CLOVER. Our young should be our own. Nobody should ever have to

sell their child to the humans ever again.

No selling our young, excellent.

CLARA. We shouldn’t sell those monsters anything. All men are

enemies, right? We shouldn’t sell our eggs, the cows shouldn’t sell

their milk. No selling anything of ours to the humans.

No dealings with humans. All those in favour?

All the hands go up.

Resolution passed!

MINTY. And one of them says no animal shall wear clothes, right?

Exactly.

MINTY. If we have to follow the rules then so should she!

Minty’s got a point, Molly. They’re just a harness and

whip in disguise.

CLOVER. I know, but the harvest is heavy work and it’s harder on some

animals than others

I did have this one idea to cut back on the workload.

CLOVER. What is it?

So, at the moment, our waste starts out in our stalls,

doesn’t it, and then we collect it and haul it out all the way to the

dungheap, then when it’s time to fertilise the fields we heave it into

carts and haul all the way out there and it’s a lot of extra work on top

of everything else so. So maybe we could draw up a schedule.

NAPOLEON. A schedule?

A rotating schedule of locations for every animal to drop

their dung directly in the fields. No more heavy carting, one less job.

CLOVER. That’s a start.

We can begin drawing the rota up right away. It’s a boring

job, but…

SQUEALER. I’ll do it. I don’t mind.

Thank you, Squealer, excellent

NAPOLEON. We can improve the farm later, when we’re safe.

If we wait till we’re safe we’ll never do it! There’s no use

in taking the farm if we don’t make it better for ourselves, right?

BOXER. That’s true.

Let’s vote on it. All those in favour of less pointless work

hauling manure?

NAPOLEON. Well. Good.

Now. Our reading and writing lessons, how are we getting

on?

CLOVER. I can’t even read the commandments. You both made it look

easy!

You don’t have to read the whole thing, just remember the

most important bit. Four legs good, two legs bad.

MINTY. Four legs good, two legs bad?

Exactly. That’s the most important thing to know, more

important than reading.

NAPOLEON. Education is important, though.

Well, yes, / but –

BLUE. Thank you.

Well. Excellent. Good.

CLOVER. Well… There is one thing. It’s a small thing really and I’m

sure there’s an explanation it’s just, we can’t find the milk.

The milk?

CLOVER. The cows have been producing as much milk as ever, and

Nutmeg and the sows have been brilliant at the milking. But when I

looked for the buckets to give some out in the ration they were gone.

We’ll do a sweep of the farm, I’m sure they’ll turn up.

And hey – since the harvest is going so well, let’s give everyone an

extra apple in their ration instead, make it up.

NAPOLEON. Speaking of the harvest. I think we’re on track to finish

today?

That’s the plan

NAPOLEON. No, no, no, we present a united front, a confident first /

charge.

We’re outnumbered, he’s brought men with him, the only

chance we have is to take him by surprise –

NAPOLEON. If we’d built the barricade like we planned to –

Yeah well it’s too late for that now, we need an ambush.

NAPOLEON. / Stand our ground

Get to the cowshed.

NAPOLEON. What?

We’re going to ambush him. Send the chickens up to the

roof, sheep and donkeys, to the stalls. Horses with us, pigs in the

cowshed.

NAPOLEON. You’re leaving the smaller animals exposed.

It will work. Get to the cowshed with the others and wait

for my signal.

MINTY. They’re here. Jones has a gun.

Now, Napoleon!

CLOVER. Cowshed, come on.

Stay strong, comrades, stick to the plan. For Animal

Farm!

Squadron one, fertilise them!

Squadron two, go, go!

Fall back, fall back!

Now. ATTACK!

ANIMAL FARM!

MINTY. Are you alright?

Barely grazed me...

CLOVER. Here –

CLOVER fashions him a sling. It looks exactly like Old Major’s.

Thank you, comrades. Boxer!

He shakes BOXER’s hand.

We sent him packing! I don’t think he’ll be back in a hurry.

CLARA. You were so brave.

we all were

CLOVER. You deserve it, you both do. Well?

The ANIMALS all look excitedly at NAPOLEON. He takes Old

Major’s medals out of his pocket. CLOVER takes them and pins them

on BOXER and SNOWBALL.

Animal heroes!

Everyone applauds.

Long live animal farm!

SNOWBALL reveals a drawing of a windmill to NAPOLEON.

Ta-da

NAPOLEON. What’s this?

what’s it look like?

NAPOLEON. Snowball –

It’s a windmill.

NAPOLEON. Okay.

The windmill will take the farm into the future.

Electricity, light, heat. I’ve got it all worked out.

NAPOLEON. Wait, sorry, you want us to build this?

Well, I want them to build it.

NAPOLEON. You want us to build a windmill?

What’s the problem?

NAPOLEON. Snowball... we’re already behind on the ploughing for

spring, there’s the slurry to spread –

Yeah, I know, this will / make all of that easier.

NAPOLEON. The ground is frozen, the water’s frozen in the pipes.

This will fix that! With a windmill we can generate

power, electricity, we could use mechanical ploughs, we can heat the

water. Take the farm into the future.

NAPOLEON. How would we even know how to build this?

I’ve already drawn up plans.

NAPOLEON. You have? When?

This past week, does it matter?

NAPOLEON. You never told me you / were planning this.

Well, I don’t need your permission, do I? Look, okay, see

here, the wind pushes sails which turn a rotor which turns a generator

which makes / electricity.

NAPOLEON. Where are we getting a rotor? Where are we getting a

generator? We can’t even plough the long field.

If we build the windmill it will be easier to plough the

long field.

NAPOLEON. Where are you getting the stone?

The quarry.

NAPOLEON. How long’s it going to take?

A few months, a year, tops.

NAPOLEON. A year? On top of everything else? That’s insane.

It’s a short-term / push for long-term gain.

NAPOLEON. We have our work cut out for us already just keeping

afloat, keeping the farmers away.

I’ve thought it through.

NAPOLEON. We can’t build a windmill.

Why, because we’re animals?

NAPOLEON. No. That’s / not what I mean.

The whole point of the rebellion was to make our lives

better and so far we’ve done nothing but exactly what Jones did.

NAPOLEON. There’s no use making our lives better if we’ve starved to

death in the process.

Didn’t you hear me? Electricity, Napoleon! Light, heat.

Why can’t you... Think of what that would mean for us.

NAPOLEON. And if it doesn’t work?

SNOWBALL. It will work.

NAPOLEON. How do you know?

Because I’ve planned it.

NAPOLEON scoffs at this.

What?

NAPOLEON. ‘Because you’ve planned it.’

Yes. Why do you – every idea I’ve had you’ve shot down.

NAPOLEON. No I haven’t.

Yes, every one. And they’ve all worked.

NAPOLEON. Have they?

Yes. The rota, the ambush at the Battle of the Cowshed.

NAPOLEON. The ambush?

Yes.

NAPOLEON. That was a lucky escape.

Lucky? We won.

NAPOLEON. By the skin of our teeth.

by our cunning, by bravery

NAPOLEON. You led us into unnecessary danger and it was lucky more

animals weren’t hurt.

I was hurt

NAPOLEON. Okay.

I was hurt!

NAPOLEON. Oh come on, how long are you gonna keep wearing / that

thing?

I was an animal hero

NAPOLEON. Those are Major’s medals. Not yours. You look ridiculous.

You want them? Here, go on, take them.

NAPOLEON. No, I don’t / want them.

Take them, please. I don’t care.

NAPOLEON. Careful!

Where are your ideas then? Hm? What’s your big plan?

NAPOLEON. I have ideas.

Fantastic, I’m all ears.

NAPOLEON. I have ideas! Better training for the animals on the tools,

strengthening our defences.

Running scared from the farmer and getting back in the

harness.

NAPOLEON. I threw the first stone, I started the rebellion.

And I’m grateful you did. But that’s in the past and we

need to look further than the ends of our own noses now.

NAPOLEON. Snowball. If we waste our time and our energy on a

scheme that falls through, we’ll suffer and animals may die.

Well, that’s up to them. Not you. I’m proposing it at the

meeting tomorrow and you’re welcome to argue your case. What do

you think they’ll prefer? An ambitious, exciting dream of a

comfortable future, that tells them they can make great things if they

try? Or you. Saying get back to spreading slurry and flinching at the

sound of Jones’s name.

NAPOLEON. You’re lying to them. They’ll see right through you.

Well, they haven’t yet, have they? You may have thrown

the first stone, Napoleon, but a part of you is still locked in that sty

waiting for the farmer to feed you.

NAPOLEON. That’s not true.

Isn’t it?

NAPOLEON. Come here and say that. Come here.

No, Napoleon. We’re not piglets in the mud any more. I’ll

see you at the vote.

scene 14 - big barn meeting

Friends. Close your eyes and imagine a scene. You too,

Benjamin. Electric light in the stables and stalls. Mechanical ploughs

for when the soil is too hard for us to turn. And best of all... heat.

Electric heaters. Warm water. In every animal’s stall. This doesn’t

have to just be our imagination. It’s within our reach. We can achieve

all of this with one project. This.

He pulls a tarpaulin to reveal big drawing of a windmill. NAPOLEON

watches.

The windmill. This windmill won’t just make our lives easier but it

will be a symbol to all the world of what animals can do when they

stand up to their oppressors. It will stand proud long after we’re gone.

Years from now those that come after will stand in its shade, be

warmed by its power, look at its stones and know – Boxer laid that stone. And Clover that one. Minty that. Benjamin, Clara, Nutmeg,

Squealer, Napoleon – all worked and left this windmill so that all those

who came after could have a better life.

BOXER. Where will it go?

The mid-field, on the hill.

CLOVER. How long will it take?

If we start in the spring, we’ll have hot baths by winter.

CLARA. It looks like a lot of work, Snowball.

I won’t lie to you, friends, it will be a lot of work. No

animal has ever done anything like it before. There will be some who

think that we can’t do it. But I know we can. I know the work you’ve

already done, and it’s extraordinary. I know we can do the

extraordinary again, together.

CLOVER. If we can heat the stalls, your eggs will never be cold.

We could even run incubators.

CLOVER. We would refrigerate the food store, make everything last

longer, up the rations.

It’s all within our reach. If you vote for the windmill.

Any objections?

He looks to NAPOLEON. A beat. NAPOLEON whistles.

Suddenly, in the doorway, BLUE appears. There’s a murmur of

surprise. SNOWBALL laughs, quizzically, not sure what’s going on.

What’s –