Chapter 15 Chapter Thirteen The Creepy Dog Barking

Following the scream, there was a creepy bark of dogs outside the barn.Nine ferocious dogs with collars studded with copper studs rushed into the room and jumped straight at Snowball.Snowball fled from the seat in a hurry, just in time to avoid the sharp teeth of several big dogs.In the blink of an eye, Snowball had escaped from the house.Nine dogs chased after him.The animals were so dumbstruck with fright that they could not utter a word.People crowded out of the big barn to see how the chase would turn out.Snowball was now galloping across the long pasture that led to the road.He ran as fast as he could with all his strength, but he couldn't shake off the dogs that followed him.Suddenly, he slipped and fell, and it seemed that he would not be able to escape this time, but he quickly got up from the ground and continued to run at a faster speed.The vicious dogs got closer and closer, and one of them almost bit Snowball's tail with its bloody mouth, but luckily he got rid of it in time.At last Snowball leaped with all his nursing strength, and by a single step he escaped from the farm through a gap in the hedge, and was lost in an instant.

The animals were all frightened and walked back to the barn without saying a word.A minute later, several dogs also came back jumping up and down.At first, no one could imagine where these dogs came from.But after a while, the mystery was solved: it turned out that they were the puppies that Napoleon took from the mother dog and raised privately.Although they haven't fully grown up yet, they are already very big, ferocious and terrifying, like wolves.They huddled close beside Napoleon, wagging their tails as the other dogs had done to Mr. Jones in the old days. Now Napoleon, with the dogs behind him, mounted the dais at the end of the floor where the major used to stand and make his speech.He announced to the animals that there would be no more Sunday morning parties from now on.Such gatherings were unnecessary, he said, and a waste of time.Questions concerning farm labor will in future be decided only by special committees of pigs.The committee will be chaired by himself and need not be held in public.Any resolutions will be communicated to all animals after the meeting.The animals would still meet on Sunday mornings to salute the farm flags, sing the Beast Song of England, and receive their assignments for the week ahead, but there would be no further discussion.

Although every animal had been horrified at the sight of Snowball being chased away by the dogs, they were still very depressed when they heard of this new decision.Some of the animals wanted to protest, but they couldn't find the right words.Even Boxer vaguely felt that this decision was not right, and was a little uneasy.He pursed his ears, shook the mane on his forehead, tried to organize his thoughts, but couldn't think of anything to say.Among the pigs, there are a few who are very expressive.The four little fat pigs sitting in the front row jumped up and started talking at the same time.But suddenly the dog sitting next to Napoleon let out a frightening bark, which frightened the four little pigs into silence and sat down again.After that, the sheep began to shout "Four legs are good, two legs are bad" again.The howling of the sheep lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour, and even if some animals wanted to continue the discussion, they were distracted by them.

After the incident Squealer was sent to walk round the farm and explain to the animals the reasons for this new arrangement. "Comrades," said Squealer, "Comrade Napoleon has given himself such a new burden of work and made a great sacrifice for everyone. I think we should all be grateful for this. Comrades, you must not think that What a joy it is to lead. On the contrary, it is a heavy responsibility. Napoleon believed more than anyone in the principle that all animals are equal. He would be very, very happy if he could let you decide your own affairs Yes. But, comrades, sometimes your decisions can be wrong, and what are the consequences? Say you just decided to follow Snowball and believe his windmill-making nonsense... What is Snowball Stuff? Now we all know very well that Snowball is nothing short of a criminal!"

"Snowball fought very bravely at the Battle of the Cowshed," said some of the animals. "Braveness is not enough," said Squealer, "loyalty and obedience are more important. As for the Battle of the Cowshed, I am sure we will find out some day that Snowball's role has been greatly exaggerated. Discipline, comrades, We need iron discipline! That is our watchword today. One wrong step and our enemies will ride on our necks. Surely you don't want to call Jones back, comrades?" Squealer made the point again that was indisputable.The animals certainly didn't want to call Jones back.If holding a debate on Sunday morning risks calling Jones back, let's not have it.Boxer had now had time to think things out, and what he was saying was really what all the animals felt.He said: "Since Comrade Napoleon said so, it must be right." From then on, in addition to the mantra "I will work harder", another sentence that often hangs on his lips is "Napoleon is always right."

By this time the weather had changed and spring plowing had begun.One of the rooms in which Snowball had used to draw the blueprints of the windmill was kept shut, and the animals thought the blueprints had been wiped off the floor.Every Sunday at ten o'clock the animals assembled in the big barn to receive their work for the week.Old Major's skull, all muscle had been eaten away, had been dug out of the apple orchard and placed on a wooden pier under the flagpole, next to the shotgun.After the flag was hoisted, the animals had to line up and walk respectfully in front of the skull before entering the barn.Now they no longer sit together regardless of each other as in the past.Napoleon, Squealer, and another pig named Tiny (who had an extraordinary talent for composing music and poetry), sat on the high platform in front of the barn, and nine half-sized dogs surrounded them in a semicircle.The rest of the animals sat facing them on the barn floor.Napoleon read out the plans for the next week in a hoarse, military-like voice.At last, after all the animals had sung the Beast Song of England, they went their separate ways.