Learn Italian with Animal Farm (A2–B1) | Simplified Italian text with English Translation

Animal Farm Chapter 1 – Old Major’s Dream

It was a cold evening. All of us animals

gathered in the big barn. Old Major, the most

respected pig on the farm, said he had

something important to tell us. I was curious… but also a little nervous.

Nothing new ever happens on the Manor Farm.

Major climbed onto a bale of hay. He was tired, but his eyes were shining.

He told us about his life, about his hard work, about his hunger.

He told us that men exploit us, take our work,

our milk, our eggs, and then throw us away when we are no longer useful.

“Man is our enemy,” he said forcefully.

“We must rebel. We must build a

farm just for animals, where everyone is equal and free.”

We listened in silence, even the chickens. Then Major taught us a song:

Beasts of England. We all sang together.

For the first time I felt something inside: hope.

That night I didn’t sleep. I kept thinking about that dream.

But I didn’t know that soon the blood would touch the straw.

—

Chapter 2 – The Rebellion

Old Major died three nights later. We buried him under a tree,

near the orchard. Something changed in us after that.

I thought about it every day: what if he was right?

The pigs started holding secret meetings.

The two most intelligent were Napoleon, silent but determined,

and Snowball, quick of speech and full of ideas.

They called their thinking “Animalism”. They explained to us that we had to prepare ourselves.

That the rebellion would come… but no one knew when.

Then it happened. All in an instant.

Mr. Jones, increasingly drunk, forgot to feed us.

We were hungry.

A cow broke down the barn door

and we followed it. Jones ran out with his stick,

but this time no one ran away. We loaded together: chickens,

horses, cows… even geese!

Jones and his men dropped everything. They ran away.

We couldn’t believe it: the farm was ours!

We tore off the whips, burned the collars.

The pigs said, “From now on it’s called Animal Farm.”

That night we sang Beasts of England a hundred times.

But in the darkness I saw Napoleon looking at the master’s house…

and I’ve never forgotten that look. Chapter 3 – The New Farm

The first days after the rebellion were full of enthusiasm.

We all worked more willingly, even though it was hard work.

Finally we worked for ourselves, no longer for the men.

The pigs took over the organization.

They said it was right this way, because they were the most intelligent.

Snowball taught many of us to read and write.

I learned a few words, but the horses and sheep had a harder time.

We wrote the Seven Commandments

on the barn wall. Simple rules:

All animals are equal. No animal shall kill another.

No animal shall sleep in a bed.

We repeated them to each other every day. Snowball was always among us.

He motivated us. He helped us.

Napoleon, on the other hand, spoke little. He preferred to be with the puppies.

He kept them separate. He said he was training them.

One day we found the pigs eating milk and apples that had fallen from the trees.

Boxer, the strongest horse, asked why. They said the pigs needed it

to think better.

We agreed… but something

began to seem strange to me. And inside I felt

that we were forgetting too quickly why we had fought.

—

Chapter 4 – The Battle of the Fence

For a few weeks everything went well. The men on the neighboring farms laughed at us.

They said we would soon collapse. But deep down I knew they feared us.

Then, one autumn morning, the news came: Mr. Jones was returning,

along with other men, with sticks and guns. They wanted to take back the farm.

We prepared in silence. It was the first real battle of our lives.

Snowball took command. He had studied old war books.

He gave precise orders to everyone:

The geese were to confuse the enemy.

The sheep were to make noise. The horses were to attack at the right moment.

When Jones entered the yard, we were ready.

The battle was fierce. I saw blood on the snow,

hooves hitting, chickens pecking at eyes.

Snowball rushed at Jones like lightning.

He was wounded, but he did not give up. In the end, the men ran away.

We won!

We made a medal for the bravest.

Snowball was a hero. Everyone admired him.

But while we were celebrating…

Napoleon did not say a word. And I noticed that he looked at Snowball

with an expression I had never seen before.

—

Chapter 5 – Napoleon’s Power

Winter came with mud and frost. The arguments between Snowball and Napoleon

became louder and louder. Every meeting ended in arguments.

They were no longer two leaders. They were two enemies.

Snowball often spoke of the windmill. He said he would give us electricity,

that we would work less. I believed him.

But Napoleon said it was a waste of time, that we should think about food, not dreams.

Then came the day of the vote. We were all gathered in the barn.

Snowball was speaking passionately. He was about to convince us.

But suddenly… Napoleon made a strange sound.

Seven enormous dogs came from the woods. They threw themselves on Snowball.

He ran, jumped out the window and disappeared forever.

The dogs stood next to Napoleon. Now I understood why he kept them hidden.

That day, Napoleon said

there would be no more meetings. He would make all the decisions.

Boxer whispered, “Napoleon is always right.”

I lowered my head… but in my stomach I felt a strange cold,

stronger than the January wind. Chapter 6 – Hard Work and Lies

With the arrival of spring, Napoleon told us

that we would build the windmill. The same project he had criticized before.

But now… it had become his idea.

We worked day and night. Boxer and I broke our backs.

He always said, “I’ll work harder.”

He said it even when he was limping.

No one had ever worked so hard.

To find materials, Napoleon began to do business

with the men from other farms. Before, he said we would never see them.

Now he sold eggs, bought seeds, had men come to inspect the farm.

The pigs explained to us that it was for the good of all.

Meanwhile, the Seven Commandments changed… but none of us remembered the exact sentences.

And the pigs said, “You misunderstood.”

One night, a storm destroyed the mill. We found the stones on the ground,

the wall collapsed.

Napoleon said it was Snowball’s fault.

That he had secretly returned to sabotage everything.

He called him a traitor and an enemy of the animal.

I wasn’t sure. But I was afraid to say anything.

And from that day on, I understood

that on our farm, the truth had become a luxury.

—

Chapter 7 – Fear and Punishment

The winter was the worst ever.

It was cold. There was little food.

Some days we ate only a handful of straw.

The chickens protested. They would no longer give their eggs

to sell to the humans.

Napoleon responded by closing the feeder.

Some chickens died of hunger. The others finally gave up.

Meanwhile, everyone was always talking about Snowball. Every problem was his fault:

the wind, broken tiles, even an overturned bucket.

They said he was hiding somewhere nearby and working against us.

One evening, Napoleon called everyone into the yard.

The dogs kept everyone silent. Some animals were forced to confess

that they had helped Snowball.

Then they were torn to pieces

in front of us. One after the other.

No one spoke. No one protested.

The blood mixed with the snow. I trembled.

I no longer knew what was right or wrong.

I remembered one of the Commandments: “No animal shall kill another animal.”

But now it said: “… without a reason.”

The pigs said there was a good reason.

That night, I did not sing Beasts of England.

Because deep down I knew the dream was dead.

—

Chapter 8 – Pigs Become Men

After the executions, fear replaced

hope. No one spoke any more.

We worked in silence, heads down.

Every now and then the rumor spread that Snowball had been seen.

But no one ever found him.

The windmill was rebuilt with difficulty. Then came another war.

The men attacked us and destroyed the windmill again.

We won the battle, but many were injured.

Boxer gave his all, even though his strength was running out.

When he was seriously injured, they told us

he would be taken to the vet.

But I saw the cart taking him away. It said: “Slaughterhouse.”

I screamed. I ran.

But it was too late.

The days passed. The pigs lived in the house.

They drank wine. They wore clothes.

They began to walk on two legs.

One day, men from other farms arrived. They had lunch with the pigs.

They laughed together. They toasted.

Napoleon spoke to them like an old friend.

I approached the window. Then I looked at the wall of the barn.

The Seven Commandments were gone.

Only one sentence remained, written in large letters:

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

I looked at them carefully, inside that brightly lit room...

and for a long moment I couldn't figure out

who was the pig and who was the man.