I Am Your Leader
Animal Farm — Napoleon

Hello, comrades. I know some of you are not happy. You say you work too hard. You say you don't have enough food. And some of you think I am not a good leader. But I want you to remember something. Do you remember Mr Jones? Do you remember how he treated us? We worked every day, but he took almost everything. We wanted freedom. We wanted a better life. And who helped make that happen? We all fought together, but someone had to become the leader. Someone had to make the important decisions. That person was me.

Now, let's talk about Snowball. I know many of you liked him. He had many ideas, and he was good at speaking. But that doesn't mean he was right. He wanted to make all the decisions. We argued all the time. How could we run a farm like that? So I sent him away. We could not spend every Sunday arguing while the work waited. The meetings had to change. You still have your jobs, and the pigs will decide what needs to happen next. Some of you were scared of my dogs. But the dogs are here to protect us. If everyone follows the rules, there is nothing to worry about. You should understand that.

Now, I have heard something else. Some animals are asking why the pigs get milk and apples. You think we are taking too much. But you don't understand our work. You work in the fields. We make the plans. I have to think about the whole farm, every single day. Do you think that is easy? We need good food to stay healthy and make good decisions. If we cannot do our jobs, who will lead the farm?

And what about the beds? Yes, the pigs sleep in beds now. But the rule says we cannot sleep in beds "with sheets". We don't use sheets, so we are not breaking the rule. Maybe some of you remember it differently. But people forget things sometimes. You should trust what is written on the wall. It is written there, so that should be enough.

There is also the problem with food. I know some of you are still hungry. But Squealer has shown you the numbers. He says life is better than before. Why would he lie to you? We are working hard to make this farm better. Sometimes things are difficult. That doesn't mean we are doing something wrong.

Think about Boxer. He always worked hard. He trusted me. He said, "Napoleon is always right." He did not ask for a long speech every time I gave an order. I think more animals should be like him. If everyone stopped working to ask questions, nothing would get done.

Now some of you say the pigs are becoming like humans. Yes, we wear clothes. We live in the house. We even walk on two legs. But is that really a problem? We are not Mr Jones. We are the ones running this farm now. You wanted a farm without human leaders. Well, you have one.

Look at the wall. It says, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." I know that sounds a little strange. But we cannot all be leaders. Someone has to make the rules, and someone has to follow them. I have done so much for this farm. I don't need everyone to like me. I just need you to trust me. The farm needs workers who do their daily jobs. Now, stop asking questions. We have work to do.