News about the takeover on Animal Farm spreads through the county, and Snowball and Napoleon send out special flights of pigeons instructed to go to other farms and tell the animals the story of the Rebellion and teach them "Beasts of England".
Mr. Jones spends most of his time sitting in the Red Lion Pub complaining about his woes, and the other farmers wonder if there is a way they can gain by his loss. Luckily the two farmers neighboring Animal Farm, Mr. Pilkington of Foxwood and Mr. Frederick of Pinchfield, hate each other and would never cooperate against the animals. They are both worried by the rebellion, though, and say that it will never last and that the animals are fighting among themselves and starving to death. Then when it is clear that the animals are not starving to death, they change their tune:
"It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was what came of rebelling against the laws of Nature, Frederick and Pilkington said." Chapter 4, pg. 33
Still, rumors of a wonderful farm spread among animals, and 'Beasts of England' can be heard everywhere, much to the anger of the human beings.
In early October, Jones and all his men with some others from nearby farms, come back to try and retake the farm - Jones carrying a gun and the others carrying sticks. Snowball assumes leadership (he has studied an old book of Julius Caesar's campaigns from the farmhouse) and together the animals manage to defeat the humans and drive them off the farm - although a shot from Jones kills a sheep and wounds Snowball along the back. One stable-boy is hit on the skull by one of Boxer's hooves, and then lies motionless face-downward in the mud. Boxer is upset because he believes he has killed the boy, and when Snowball tells him that the only good human being is a dead one:
"'I have no wish to take life, not even human life,' repeated Boxer, and his eyes were full of tears." Chapter 4, pg. 37
The animals discover Mollie is missing, go to look for her and find her hiding in her stall with her head buried in the hay - when they return they find that the stable-lad, who was only stunned, has recovered and run away.
The battle is named the Battle of the Cowshed and the animals decide to make two military decorations - "Animal Hero, First Class", which they give to Snowball and Boxer, and "Animal Hero, Second Class", which they give to the dead sheep. The gun Mr. Jones left behind is set up at the foot of the flagstaff, to be fired twice a year - once on the anniversary of the battle, and once on the anniversary of the Rebellion.
