Good evening. Welcome to the Just Sleep podcast. I'm Tasia, your host. Every week, I will read you

an old story to help you relax, put the stressful day behind you, and drift off to sleep.

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Tonight I will be reading George Orwell's Animal Farm.

So lie down, close your eyes, and let me read you a story.

Mr. Jones of the Manor Farm had locked the hen houses for the night but was too drunk

to remember to shut the poppoles. With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side,

he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the back door,

drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed

where Mrs. Jones was already snoring. As soon as the light in the bedroom went out, there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings.

Word had gone round during the day that Old Major, the prize middle white boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it

to the other animals. It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr.

Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major, so he was always called, though the name under which

he had been exhibited was

Willingdon Beauty, was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an

hour's sleep in order to hear what he had to say. At one end of the big barn on a sort of raised

platform, Major was already ensconced on his bed of straw under a lantern which hung from a beam

he was twelve years old and had lately grown rather stout but he was still a majestic-looking pig with a wise and benevolent appearance,

...