NODEE'S COMMITTEE

For the last two weeks I have been telling you stories about the large animal farm managed by the silent wolf called White. I had wanted to move on and tell you a tale about another set of animals, but by popular demand I will tell you more.

The farm managed by the silent but wily white wolf had a committee. Now I haven’t mentioned this before, not because they are unimportant, but because the story of White was so compelling, it had to be told separately. This committee was set up by all the farm animals as a check against the powers of anyone who became farm manager. It started a long time ago when a certain farm manager was so brutal that he killed any animal that spoke critically of him. He killed so many animals that there were hardly enough animals to do any work on the farm. The surviving animals summoned the courage to sneak into his quarters one night, kill him, and take over the farm. They then swore that never again would any farm manager have unlimited powers and they set up a committee that was an assembly made up of representatives of all the different animals. That committee would veto any decision made by the farm manager and could, in extreme circumstances even remove the farm manager.

White had come to the farm under peculiar circumstances. He had promised a return to the heydays of the farm, where animals were fat with plenty and everyone around wanted to visit the farm. The committee had sworn that they too were committed to this change. That they too wanted to end the meat eating and the stealing of yams and the disappearance of chicken eggs. That they too wanted a new farm, full of vegetarians who wanted, more than all else, to protect the farm and the planet as a whole. All the animals were so carried away with the prospect of getting rid of Goodhead the former terrible farm manager, that they did not bother taking note of which animals they sent to represent them on the committee. As long as the animal said they supported the removal of Goodhead they said: Go to the committee.

As the silence of White grew louder, as the pensiveness of the farm animals got worse, as the weariness from walking long distances to look for water wore them all down, agitation spread through the farm, and animals were often huddled in groups discussing the current state of affairs. The supporters of White made excuses and read his mind, swearing on their tails that all White wanted as he strolled through the farm, silent, was to find a way of ending all the suffering. They swore he was only in meditation, soon to come up with a magical solution for everything: food would burst from the ground and all animals would miraculously enjoy the long orgasms that were once the exclusive preserve of the pigs.

The supporters of Goodhead, although afraid of being found with stolen meat or yams and sent off the farm, were wistful, and swore that the days of Goodhead were better. And all the animals in between groaned.

The committee however, had plans of their own.

The committee was made up of two groups: animals that had two legs and animals that had four. While there was occasional bickering among them, they were united when it came to their remuneration and the protection of their privileges. They never had to go on long treks for water because as members of the committee they had access to water. All they needed to do was make sure that White did not exceed the bounds of his power and authority and that laws were made to protect the animals. And as White stayed silent, they made sure that their specials rations were protected.

As the groaning grew louder, some of the animals began castigating their committee representatives for not speaking up in all of White’s silence, for not doing their jobs, for only caring about their welfare. The animals began asking their committee representatives what they were doing. And the committee members, fat and oily from all the comfort, did not like this. A certain pig called Forgod on the committee hated the way some animals pointed at his dirty snout and his filthy hooves. Forgod then proposed a law that made it illegal for farm animals to be angry at their committee representatives or call them names. Other committee members, notably a dog named Nodee, who had been very critical of Goodhead, even calling him names, fully supported this move. Nodee hated the fact that animals could just freely cast aspersions on the persons in the committee, quickly forgetting the days when, trying to get into the committee, he led other animals to protest against Goodhead. And the animals cried out in defiance and swore that they would not allow the committee whose sworn duty was protecting the animals from oppression by the farm manager, to trample on their rights. And Nodee barked like the dog that it was.

And all the while, White walked through the farm, hands behind his back, observing all that was going on, silent.

Ps. As always, no animals were harmed in the production of this story. Not even dogs that want to silence us.