Foxwood Farm

Foxwood Farm was one of the two large estates adjoining Animal Farm. It was a large, neglected, old-fashioned farm, much overgrown by woodland, with all its pastures worn out and its hedges in a disgraceful condition. Its owner, Mr. Pilkington, was an easy-going gentleman farmer who spent most of his time fishing or hunting. The farm stood in permanent rivalry with the smaller, better-kept Pinchfield Farm, owned by the tough, shrewd Mr. Frederick, and the two farmers disliked each other so much that they could hardly agree even in defence of their own interests.

From the moment the Animal Farm Rebellion succeeded, Foxwood and its counterpart were thoroughly frightened. They first pretended to laugh the idea to scorn, insisting that the animals would starve or fight among themselves, and they refused to use the name "Animal Farm," calling it "Manor Farm" instead. When the animals did not starve, the farmers changed their tune, spreading stories of cannibalism, torture with red-hot horseshoes, and the sharing of females. These tales, though never fully believed, were part of a sustained campaign to discredit the revolutionary farm.

When Mr. Jones, reinforced by half a dozen men from Foxwood and Pinchfield, attempted to recapture the farm in early October, they were defeated in the Battle of the Cowshed. The men from Foxwood were among those who fled ignominiously, and the farm's animals celebrated their victory. Later, the vain white mare Mollie, who had been seen talking to a man from Foxwood over the hedge, defected to the human side, eventually appearing on the other side of Willingdon in a smart dogcart with a red-faced man who fed her sugar—a small but telling sign of the human world's continued allure.

In the months that followed, Napoleon engaged in a complex series of negotiations with both Pilkington and Frederick over a pile of well-seasoned timber. He played the two against each other, now seeming to favour Pilkington, now Frederick, depending on which direction the rumours of Snowball's hiding place were pointing. For a time, the pigeons were ordered to avoid Foxwood and chant "Death to Frederick," then later "Death to Pilkington." In the end, Napoleon sold the timber to Frederick, accepting banknotes that turned out to be forgeries—a bitter betrayal that forced Napoleon to send a conciliatory message to Pilkington, hoping to re-establish good relations.

That very morning, Frederick and his men attacked with guns and blasting powder, destroying the newly completed windmill in the Battle of the Windmill. The animals drove the enemy off, but the windmill lay in ruins. Pilkington's reply to Napoleon's plea for help was a scrap of paper bearing the words "Serves you right." Despite this, within a year the two farms had moved toward reconciliation. The windmill was rebuilt, and the farm prospered, even buying two fields from Pilkington, enlarging its territory.

The final and most startling rapprochement came when a deputation of neighbouring farmers, led by Pilkington, was invited to inspect Animal Farm. They were shown everything, especially the windmill, and expressed great admiration. That evening, at a dinner party in the farmhouse, Pilkington proposed a toast "To the prosperity of Animal Farm," praising the low rations and long working hours of the animals as a model for human farmers. Napoleon reciprocated, announcing that the farm would henceforth be known as "The Manor Farm" and that the practice of addressing one another as "Comrade" would be suppressed. The pigs, now walking on their hind legs, carrying whips, wearing clothes, and smoking pipes, were indistinguishable from the human farmers. As the animals outside looked through the window, they saw twelve voices shouting in anger, and it was impossible to say which was pig and which was man.