Svarta svanor, svarta svanor
Glida som i sorgetåg,
Leta sjunkna solars skimmer
I den nattligt dunkla våg.
Mörk, liksom i eld förkolnad,
Är den rika fjäderskrud,
Näbben, stum i blodig purpur,
Ännu bär om branden bud.
Hvita svanor tamt i vassen
Kryssa efter gunst och bröd.
Ut på djupet, svarta svanor
Ut, I barn af natt och glöd.
tisdag 8 juli 2008
Utdrag ur 'the Animal Farm' av George Orwell
Several nights a week, after Mr Jones was asleep, they held secret meetings in the barn and expounded the principles of Animalism to the others. At the beginning they met with such stupidity and apathy. Some of the animals talked of the duty of loyalty to Mr Jones, whom they referred to as 'Master', or made elementary remarks such as 'Mr Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should starve to death.' Others asked such questions as 'Why should we care what happens after we are dead?' or 'If this rebellion is to happen anyway, what difference does it make whether we work for it or not?', and the pigs had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The stupidest questions of all were asked by Mollie, the white mare. The very first question shi asked Snowball was: 'Will there be sugar after the Rebellion?'
'No,' said Snowball firmly. 'We have no means of making sugar on this farm. Besides you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want.'
'And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?' asked Mollie.
'Comrade', said Snowball, 'those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons?'
Molly agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.
The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven. Moses, who was Mr Jones' especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed to know of the existance of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did not work, but some of them belived in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.
'No,' said Snowball firmly. 'We have no means of making sugar on this farm. Besides you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want.'
'And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?' asked Mollie.
'Comrade', said Snowball, 'those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery. Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons?'
Molly agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.
The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven. Moses, who was Mr Jones' especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed to know of the existance of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did not work, but some of them belived in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.
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