Animal Farm Reloaded (Part one)

By Baba Galleh Jallow

As the overthrow of Farmer Jones and his human companions drifted further 
into the past, the ‘lower animals’ on Animal Farm grew more and more 
restive. Some grew very angry at what they saw as Napoleon’s treasonable and 
vicious treachery and backsliding on his lofty promises. In spite of all the 
assurances that the long-snouted Squealer, Napoleon’s faithful crony, that 
the great leader had their best interests at heart, the lower animals just 
could not be convinced any longer and grew increasingly suspicious of the 
pigs’ motives. And for good reasons too.

While Clover the horse, Muriel the goat and Minimus the poet were often 
carried away by Squealer’s honey-coated oratory, Benjamin the donkey, Moses 
the raven, and a great number of animals maintained a good deal of doubt in 
Napoleon the pig’s sincerity. Though he could not boast of such intelligence 
as the pigs possessed, Benjamin the donkey was sure that something had been 
going seriously wrong since Napoleon’s fierce dogs chased Snowball the pig, 
a former leading figure of his regime, out of Animal Farm accusing him of 
complicity with the ousted Farmer Jones at the battle of the Cowshed. Even 
Toady the frog agreed with Benjamin that Snowball was the architect and hero 
of that memorable battle against Farmer Jones and his bunch of human 
invaders. In spite of Napoleon’s claims to the contrary, Benjamin was sure 
that he heard Snowball cry attack! and saw the brave pig butt and bite Jones 
himself, sending him on his heels. That Napoleon should therefore insist 
that Snowball was a traitor just could not make sense to Benjamin, though 
for many years, he kept mute about what he thought. When he felt really 
pissed off at Napoleon’s treachery, Benjamin the donkey would turn his 
backside in the direction of Napoleon’s mansion, hold his breath, and let 
out a long and loud fart as an expression of his displeasure at the 
ungrateful and treacherous pig.

It was not only Benjamin who grew increasingly restive and angry under the 
rule of the clever pigs of Animal Farm. Many other animals were getting 
increasingly worried and angry. Over the years, they had seen Napoleon 
become more and more like Farmer Jones in more and more respects. They had 
seen him grow more and more arrogant by the hour, more and more wealthy, and 
more and more fat and confident that he could do just anything and get away 
with it because he had fierce dogs guarding him and ready to execute anyone 
like they executed those innumerable cows, sheep, and hens who were accused 
of collaborating with Snowball. The lower animals were particularly pissed 
off that Napoleon had cultivated the nauseating habit of loudly proclaiming 
that he possessed supernatural powers and that he was actually some kind of 
divine being in pigskin. Napoleon not only made such dubious proclamations: 
he also insisted, upon pain of death and destruction that all the lower 
animals accept his words without doubt or question. In spite of their 
dullness of wit, Benjamin the donkey, Muriel the goat, Minimus the poet, and 
indeed all the lower animals had begun realizing that Napoleon the pig had 
fast become worse than Farmer Jones. Even the sheep who piped “four legs 
good, two legs better” when Napoleon decided to walk on two legs, were 
growing less enthusiastic about their song. Now when they sang it, they only 
slightly parted their lips and half-heartedly bleated . . . ur le goo--- wo 
leg mbe . . . with their eyes closed, and often dropped a few piles of dung 
as they sang as a show of defiance and resistance.

Of course, Napoleon was not to be openly challenged by anyone on Animal Farm 
- sheep, goat, monkey, donkey or pig. He ensured that his gang of faithful 
dogs was well fed and kept as stupid as possible by criminalizing all 
thinking among their ranks. Those dogs that showed the slightest signs of 
displeasure at Napoleon’s rule or exhibiting any suspicious behavior were 
effectively terminated. So that the recent history of Animal Farm was 
sprinkled with a series of sudden and unexplained arrests, summary 
executions, disappearances, and remote-controlled treason trials of dogs 
formally considered loyal to Napoleon. Of course, these trials, where 
Napoleon took the liberty to order their procedure, were merely put up for 
show. No one was ever declared innocent at these trials. Every single dog or 
other animal brought before these tribunals were declared guilty as charged.

To ensure that his plan to subdue and control all the animals worked 
perfectly, Napoleon appointed his most faithful crony Squealer the Dealer, 
Director of Animal Affairs. He also ordered his storekeepers to supply the 
best honey and grain to Kokoliko, his faithful black cockerel, so that his 
voice would become louder and clearer when he announced the numerous 
exploits of the gallant Napoleon and proclaimed the verity of his divinity 
on top of Napoleon’s miracle tree, the tallest on Animal Farm, every dawn, 
every noon, and every sunset. This tree was designated a miracle tree and 
sign of Napoleon’s divinity when it had three fruits stuck together. The 
Great God Yallah, it was proclaimed throughout the land, was demonstrating 
Napoleon’s near-divinity to the lower animals by causing a triplet fruit to 
sprout from the belly of that tree, even though it was not pregnant. All the 
other pigs at the farm were kept well fed and well clothed and some sows he 
honored by taking them on as his mistresses and concubines. He ensured that 
his clever dealings with Mr. Squinteyes of dubious fame filled the lower 
animals with awe at his mental prowess and made them see that he was indeed 
a superior kind of pig whose name was even mentioned in the holy books. To 
drive the message of his invincibility and mental prowess home, Napoleon 
ordered that the seven principles of Animalism be abolished and replaced 
with the bold caption: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, PIGS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHER 
ANIMALS, NAPOLEON IS MORE EQUAL THAN EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD!

When Napoleon sold Boxer the great horse to the horse slaughterer, he 
totally lost the loyalty of more animals. Benjamin the donkey, Clover the 
horse, and Minimus the poet were particularly aggrieved. Squealer’s 
explanation that Boxer had been taken to a hospital in Willingdon Farm 
failed to convince the animals. And when news of Boxer’s death reached their 
tortured ears, their worst fears and suspicions were confirmed in no 
uncertain terms. Surely, Boxer did not deserve such cruel treatment from 
Napoleon whom he always insisted was always right. But because Napoleon’s 
fierce dogs menacingly growled and bared their sharp, bloodthirsty teeth 
when anyone asked stupid questions, the animals took Squealer’s explanation 
quietly but angrily. Boxer was never mentioned in public again, but the 
animals angrily whispered about him and cursed Napoleon whenever they were 
in their private spaces.

Throughout that day, Benjamin the donkey ate more hay than ever before and 
deliberately picked up and swallowed every piece of rubbish he could find. 
As soon as darkness fell on Animal Farm, Benjamin crept quietly to a few 
feet away from an open window of Napoleon’s mansion, turned his backside to 
it, and let out a long, drawn, silent fart. As he walked away, he heard 
Napoleon loudly coughing, spluttering, cursing, and asking what the hell was 
wrong with everybody in that darned house! Benjamin the donkey, like a few 
other animals on the Farm, had discovered the power of the secret weapons of 
the weak, and they were going to use them generously against the tyrant 
Napoleon. No help from goats!

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