It was that time again for the animals on the farm when they got together and planned on how they would survive for another year. This was the first time in over two decades that Snowball would not be there to lend his experience to the deliberations. He had been taken from that location to another much bigger farm and it was generally accepted that he would not be returning.
Snowball had been well loved but the animals all agreed that they would have to do without him and they now looked toward the wily Old Major for leadership. Old Major had quietly emerged as leader, as much for his patience and craftiness, as for his legendary use of the language which the humans spoke. He had been respected by Snowball despite earlier differences and the animals on the farm knew that despite Snowball’s closeness to Squealer, Old Major was always viewed as next in line.
Still, Squealer led the discussions and covered himself in glory. The animals used to say that Squealer could turn black into white and as they sat in the barn discussing manure, feed, equipment, how to pay for items, and the like, they could not but admire Squealer’s articulation and the fact, most of all, that what he was saying made sense and would ensure that the farm survived.
But Napoleon would have none of it. Still bristling that he had lost control of the farm to Snowball a few years back, he set out to ridicule everything that Squealer had to say. But the animals noticed that the energy had gone from Napoleon. He appeared tired, as though his sty life had really expired. Though his arguments were worthy, there was the unmistakable feeling of déjà vu. But there was one other very important element missing.
For the first time in such discussions, Napoleon did not have the support of his once trusted lieutenant, Boxer. Boxer had been earmarked for leadership on the farm but when Snowball went away, Napoleon saw it as an opportunity to seize control of the farm again and with the help of Moses, Minimus, Pincher and Pinkeye, had undermined and hurt Boxer to the quick. Moses, once the sworn enemy of Napoleon, now winked when someone said: “Position is the art of treachery”.
Minimus, Moses’ protégé, and willing to follow him down a bottomless pit, had disappointed the most as Boxer had considered him number two. Pinkeye was just a number and it was expected that if Napoleon had said “frog”, he would have instinctively jumped. The balding Pincher’s sanity was in doubt among the animals and many believed that his dislike of Boxer made the enemy of his enemy his best friend.
And so the animals talked and talked, some made no sense since they could not speak in their own tongue but had to use the language of the realm. One portly puppy gave a rambling history lesson about farm management but no one listened. Some whispered he had supported both Napoleon and Boxer and yet had helped neither.
Muriel showed that though a goat, she was not all goat and gave a good contribution in support of Squealer. Mollie, the old mare, had perhaps her finest hour. Often the butt of insensitive jokes among the animals and frequently accused of hiding in her stall, eating sugar and doing nothing, Mollie showed that there was more to her than a switching tail.
Benjamin’s support for Boxer might have led to ostracism and claims by Moses that he was “losing it”, but his contribution on how to make life on the farm tolerable was a study in clarity. In the end, the majority of the animals agreed with Squealer’s way forward and the others sulked off into the night, with Napoleon looking over his shoulder through one eye at Moses and Pinkeye still promising that he would willingly drink Napoleon’s poison anytime.