Life in the Civilized World
George Orwell
Tribune, 7 July 1944
[“As I Please” was a regular column in Tribune from December 1943 to February 1945 and again from November 1946 to April 1947. This short story is excerpted from the second part of Orwell’s 7 July 1944 “As I Please” column.]
‘I thought there was an alert on.’
‘There’s another of those things coming!’
‘It’s all right, it’s miles away.’
‘Look out, here it comes! Under the table, quick!’
‘It’s all right, it’s getting fainter.’
‘They seem to kind of circle round and come back again. They’ve got something on their tails that makes them do it. Like a torpedo.’
‘Now get right underneath. Keep your head well down. What a mercy baby isn’t here!’
‘Look at the cat! He’s frightened too.’
‘Of course animals know. They can feel the vibrations.’
‘It’s all right, I told you it was miles away.’
Copyright © The Estate of Eric Blair
