Скотный двор

           Transportingthestonewhenitwasoncebrokenwascomparativelysimple. Thehorsescarrieditoffincart-loads,thesheepdraggedsingleblocks,evenMurielandBenjaminyokedthemselvesintoanoldgoverness-cartanddidtheirshare. Bylatesummerasufficientstoreofstonehadaccumulated,andthenthebuildingbegan,underthesuperintendenceofthepigs. 

           Butitwasaslow,laboriousprocess. Frequentlyittookawholedayofexhaustingefforttodragasinglebouldertothetopofthequarry,andsometimeswhenitwaspushedovertheedgeitfailedtobreak. NothingcouldhavebeenachievedwithoutBoxer,whosestrengthseemedequaltothatofalltherestoftheanimalsputtogether. Whentheboulderbegantoslipandtheanimalscriedoutindespairatfindingthemselvesdraggeddownthehill,itwasalwaysBoxerwhostrainedhimselfagainsttheropeandbroughtthebouldertoastop. Toseehimtoilinguptheslopeinchbyinch,hisbreathcomingfast,thetipsofhishoofsclawingattheground,andhisgreatsidesmattedwithsweat,filledeveryonewithadmiration. Cloverwarnedhimsometimestobecarefulnottooverstrainhimself,butBoxerwouldneverlistentoher. Histwoslogans,"Iwillworkharder"and"Napoleonisalwaysright,"seemedtohimasufficientanswertoallproblems. Hehadmadearrangementswiththecockereltocallhimthree-quartersofanhourearlierinthemorningsinsteadofhalfanhour. Andinhissparemoments,ofwhichtherewerenotmanynowadays,hewouldgoalonetothequarry,collectaloadofbrokenstone,anddragitdowntothesiteofthewindmillunassisted. 

           Theanimalswerenotbadlyoffthroughoutthatsummer,inspiteofthehardnessoftheirwork. IftheyhadnomorefoodthantheyhadhadinJones’sday,atleasttheydidnothaveless. Theadvantageofonlyhavingtofeedthemselves,andnothavingtosupportfiveextravaganthumanbeingsaswell,wassogreatthatitwouldhavetakenalotoffailurestooutweighit.