"Meanwhile life was hard. The winter was as cold as the last one had been, and food waseven shorter. Once again all rations were reduced except those of the pigs and the dogs. A too-rigid equality in rations, Squealer explained, would have been contrary to the principles of Animalism. In any case he had no difficulty in proving to the other animals that they were not in reality short of food, whatever the appearances might be. Fo the time being, certainly, it had been found necessary to make  a readjustment of rations (Squealer always spoke of it as a 'readjustment', never as a 'reduction'), but in comparison with the days of Jones the improvement was enormous. Reading out the figures in a shrill rapid voice , he proved to them in detail that the had more oats, more hay, more turnips than they had had in Jones's day, that they worked shorter hours, that their drinking water was of better quality, that they lived longer, that a larger proportion of their young ones survived infancy, and that they had more straw  in their stalls and suffered less from fleas. The animals belived every word of it. Truth to tell, Jones and all he stood for had almost faded out of their memories. They knew that life nowadays was harsh and bare, that they were often hungry and often cold, and that they were usually working when they were not asleep. But doubtless it had been worse in the old days. They were glad to belive so. Besides, in those days they had been slaves and now they were free, and that made all the difference, as Squealer did not fail to point out. "  - George Orwell, "Animal Farm"