Chapter 1

On a drunken night at Manor Farm, Mr. Jones neglects his animals and goes to bed. Once the house is dark, the animals assemble in the big barn to hear Old Major, a revered boar, who has called a meeting after a significant dream. Notable attendees include Boxer and Clover, Benjamin, Muriel, the three dogs Bluebell, Jessie, and Pincher, Mollie, and the cat; Moses the raven is absent.

Old Major begins by diagnosing their lives as miserable and short because humans exploit their labor and ultimately kill them. He argues the land is fertile and abundance is possible if Man, the true enemy, is removed. He warns that even the strongest, like Boxer, will be destroyed when no longer useful, urging total commitment to eventual Rebellion, whether soon or far off.

A commotion over four rats prompts a vote on whether wild creatures are comrades. The animals, with only the dogs and the cat dissenting (the cat votes both ways), decide that rats are comrades. Old Major then sets principles: whatever goes on two legs is an enemy; four legs or wings are friends; animals must never adopt human habits (beds, clothes, alcohol, money, trade) or tyrannize over one another; all animals are equal; no animal must kill another.

Turning to his dream, Old Major cannot describe it but says it revealed a future without Man and revived an old anthem, “Beasts of England.” He sings it, and the animals quickly learn and sing it together with mounting enthusiasm, uniting around its promise of freedom and abundance.

The uproar awakens Mr. Jones, who fires his shotgun into the dark, believing there is a fox. Startled, the animals scatter to their sleeping places, and the farm falls silent, leaving Old Major’s call to Rebellion and principles lingering in their minds.