動物農(nóng)場Animal Farm 第7章(3)

The price of these would pay for enough grain and meal to keep the farm going till summer came on and conditions were easier.

這些雞蛋所賺的錢可買回很多飼糧，莊園也就可以堅持到夏季，那時，情況就好轉(zhuǎn)了。

When the hens heard this, they raised a terrible outcry.

雞一聽到這些，便提出了強烈的抗議。

They had been warned earlier that this sacrifice might be necessary, but had not believed that it would really happen.

雖然在此之前就已經(jīng)有過預(yù)先通知，說這種犧牲恐怕是必不可少的，但他們并不相信真會發(fā)生這種事。

They were just getting their clutches ready for the spring sitting, and they protested that to take the eggs away now was murder.

此時，他們剛把春季孵小雞用的蛋準備好，因而便抗議說，現(xiàn)在拿走雞蛋就是謀財害命。

For the first time since the expulsion of Jones, there was something resembling a rebellion.

于是，自瓊斯被逐以后第一次有了帶有反叛味的行為。

Led by three young Black Minorca pullets, the hens made a determined1 effort tothwart2 Napoleon's wishes.

為了攪亂拿破侖的計劃，雞群在三只年輕的黑米諾卡雞的帶動下，索性豁出去了。

Their method was to fly up to the rafters and there lay their eggs, which smashed to pieces on the floor.

他們的做法是飛到椽子上下蛋，雞蛋落到地上便打得粉碎。

Napoleon acted swiftly and ruthlessly.

對此，拿破侖立即采取嚴厲措施。

He ordered the hens' rations3 to be stopped, and decreed that any animal giving so much as a grain of corn to a hen should be punished by death.

他指示停止給雞供應(yīng)飼料，同時下令，任何動物，不論是誰，哪怕給雞一粒糧食都要被處以死刑。

The dogs saw to it that these orders were carried out.

這些命令由狗來負責(zé)執(zhí)行。

For five days the hens held out, then they capitulated and went back to their nesting boxes.

堅持了五天的雞最后投降了，又回到了雞窩里。

Nine hens had died in the meantime.

在這期間共有九只雞死去。

Their bodies were buried in the orchard4, and it was given out that they had died of coccidiosis.

遺體都埋到了果園里，對外則說他們是死于雞瘟。

Whymper heard nothing of this affair, and the eggs were duly delivered, a grocer's van driving up to the farm once a week to take them away.

對于此事，溫普爾一點也不知道，雞蛋按時交付，每周都由一輛食品車來莊園拉一次。