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It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found.

She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as though nothing had happened.

But she always made such excellent excuses, and purred so affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions.

Old Benjamin, the donkey, seemed quite unchanged since the Rebellion.

He did his work in the same slow obstinate way as he had done it in Jones's time, never shirking and never volunteering for extra work either.

About the Rebellion and its results he would express no opinion.

When asked whether he was not happier now that Jones was gone, he would say only "Donkeys live a long time.

None of you has ever seen a dead donkey," and the others had to be content with this cryptic answer.

On Sundays there was no work.

Breakfast was an hour later than usual, and after breakfast there was a ceremony which was observed every week without fail.

First came the hoisting of the flag.

Snowball had found in the harness-room an old green tablecloth of Mrs. Jones's and had painted on it a hoof and a horn in white.

This was run up the flagstaff in the farmhouse garden every Sunday morning.

The flag was green, Snowball explained, to represent the green fields of England, while the hoof and horn signified the future Republic of the Animals which would arise when the human race had been finally overthrown.

After the hoisting of the flag all the animals trooped into the big barn for a general assembly which was known as the Meeting.

Here the work of the coming week was planned out and resolutions were put forward and debated.

It was always the pigs who put forward the resolutions.

The other animals understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions of their own.

Snowball and Napoleon were by far the most active in the debates.

But it was noticed that these two were never in agreement: whatever suggestion either of them made, the other could be counted on to oppose it.

Even when it was resolved - a thing no one could object to in itself - to set aside the small paddock behind the orchard as a home of rest for animals who were past work, there was a stormy debate over the correct retiring age for each class of animal.

The Meeting always ended with the singing of 'Beasts of England', and the afternoon was given up to recreation.

The pigs had set aside the harness-room as a headquarters for themselves.

Here, in the evenings, they studied blacksmithing, carpentering, and other necessary arts from books which they had brought out of the farmhouse.

Snowball also busied himself with organising the other animals into what he called Animal Committees.

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