This volume is part of a new series of novels, plays and stories at GCSE/Key Stage 4 level, designed to meet the needs of the National Curriculum. Each text includes an introduction, pre-reading activities, notes and coursework activities. Also provided is a section on the process of writing, often compiled by the author. Orwell's "fairy tale with a sting" describes a farmyard rebellion and its consequences. But it also provokes comparisons with the 20th-century political world.