Remy Csendes, Class of 2025

Dear Natrix Natrix,

One evening in early March, I was slithering through the hay, grass, and dirt en route to the squalid barn. I would typically roam the rim of Manor Farm to avoid contact with other creatures, however this time is an exception. I eavesdropped on numerous animals mentioning to each other of an informative assembly which would be led by Old Major, an elderly and enlightened boar. I slid into the barn and made myself comfortable, waiting for the meeting to begin. Old Major spoke of how awful their lives were – full of drudgery and devoid of elation, only to be slaughtered in the end. He indoctrinated nearly every animal in the barn and convinced them that 

Man was their sole enemy. Old Major taught us an old song called “Beasts of England.” I’ll write down the first verse for you:

Beasts of England, beasts or Ireland,

Beasts of every land and clime,

Hearken to my joyful tidings

Of the golden future time.

I believe Man shall be overthrown one day for his sins against life and the massacres he has caused. Three months later, and after a substantial amount of planning by the pigs, the farm animals attacked the men. I was quite satisfied when they bolted off. (I advise you to execute a similar procedure to gain freedom and equality.) The farm animals did a skillful job of harvesting the hay and established:

       THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

I  advise your farm to adopt these policies in respect to the 7th commandment and Animal Farm. You may have heard in the past that Jones and his men returned to retake the farm and there was a battle between fauna and Man. There were several casualties, however through the dominance of unity, the farm animals were able to prevail against Man once more.

One wintry morning, I woke up to the sound of a horse named Mollie walking. I opened my eyes to see men from another farm stroking Mollie’s nose with no resistance from the horse which made me question the adherence of the animals. A few days later, Mollie disappeared. She was seen later by a few pigeons with a man and even appeared to be enjoying herself. I’ve heard a considerable amount of disputes originating from the barn and witnessed Napoleon (one of the leaders and a pig) urinate on Snowball’s (another leader and a pig) work. There’s also a large division in Animal Farm. Surprisingly, Snowball was being pursued by a herd of dogs which chased him out of sight. I fear the worst is to come as the dogs seem to be led by Napoleon. I fear the stability and unity of Animal Farm is collapsing, propaganda is being spread, there is a corrupt leader, and the citizens don’t ask critical questions for the well-being of themselves.

I fear that corruption will grow on Animal Farm and I may have to intervene to help the rest of the animals think for themselves and overthrow Napoleon the same way they overthrew Mr. Jones. I trust that if Foxwood has a rebellion, it will reinstate faith in Animal Farm. If your farm does have a revolution, I suggest you educate everyone to notice corruption and to regularly refresh the original vision. 

Sincerely,

Coronella Austriaca

Foxwood Farms

12/1/2023