Old Major the boar gathers the animals of Manor Farm for a meeting. In a dream he had, all animals lived together with no human beings to oppress or control them. He urges the animals to work toward such a paradise. The animals greet Major's vision with enthusiasm. When he dies three nights after the meeting, three younger pigs--Snowball, Napoleon, and Squealer--formulate his main principles into a philosophy called Animalism. One night, the animals defeat …showed first 75 words of 495 total…

…showed last 75 words of 495 total…glue maker to get money for whisky.) Years pass, and the pigs become more like human beings--walking upright, carrying whips, and wearing clothes. Eventually, the Seven Commandments of Animalism become reduced to a single principle, reading "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." Looking in at the party of elites through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer tell which are the pigs, and which are the humans.