Hello, my name's Tim.
Today's story is about a group of talking farm animals who rebel against their human masters and take control of their farm.
It's also a powerful allegory about the corrupting influence of power.
Our story begins in Manor Farm, where a pig called Old Major has called the other farm animals to a secret meeting.
He tells them that the farmer they work for, Mr Jones, treats them as slaves, and works them to the bone.
He urges them to organise a rebellion against Jones.
Soon after Old Major dies, but his speech has inspired three younger pigs, Snowball, Napoleon and Squealer, who take his ideas and work them up into a belief system which they call animalism.
When Farmer Jones forgets to feed the animals, they've had enough.
They break into the store shed to find food.
Farmer Jones gets very worked up and tries to stop them, but they chase him away.
The farm is renamed Animal Farm and the animals decide to work together to protect their newfound freedom.
They agree on the 7 commandments of animalism which are painted on the barn wall.
The most important of these is number 7.
All animals are equal.
For a while, life is good and it looks like the rebellion has worked.
Snowball organises classes to teach the animals to read and write.
Napoleon doesn't agree with teaching the older animals.
Instead, he works on his own project.
He finds 9 young puppies, taking them away from their mother and educating them himself.
A while later, farmer Jones returns with friends to try to reclaim his farm.
There's a huge battle and it looks like the humans might win but it all works out in the end.
The humans are driven off and awards for bravery are given to Snowball and a strong horse named Boxer.
Snowball suggests that the animals build a windmill to generate their own electricity.
Napoleon thinks this sounds too much like hard work and speaks against the idea.
However, when the animals go into the barn to vote on it, Napoleon calls for his nine dogs, who are now fully grown and ferocious.
They chase Snowball away and out of the farm for good.
Things now take a turn for the worst. Napoleon declares that the pigs will take charge.
He now supports the idea of building a windmill and gets Squealer to go around telling the other animals it was Napoleon's idea in the first place.
The animals are hard at work but one night, a storm destroys the windmill.
Rebuilding it is a big project, and they have their work cut out for them.
With a huge effort from Boxer, they complete it.
Disaster strikes when the humans invade again, and blow up the windmill with dynamite.
Boxer vows to rebuild it once again, but he collapses from exhaustion.
Squealer tells the animals they will send him to hospital, while really, the pigs have sold him to a glue factory so they can buy whiskey.
By the time they work out what has happened, it is too late.
By the end of the story, the pigs are living in the farmhouse, standing on two legs, dressing like humans and even carrying whips.
The original seven commandments have slowly been whittled down to one.
All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.
The pigs invite some humans for dinner in the farmhouse and when the other animals look in through the window, they cannot tell who is human and who is pig.
Well, what a story.
That Napoleon really is a piece of work, isn't he?
It's a sad ending but it makes us realise how important it is to keep an eye on those in charge.
I hope you'll join me again next week for another classic story.
Bye for now.
