Chapter 5

After a while Hem¹’s and Haw’s confidence grew into arrogance².  Soon they became so comfortable they didn’t even notice what was happening.

As time went on, Sniff³ and Scurry⁴ continued their routine.  They arrived early each morning and sniffed⁵ and scratched and scurried⁶ around Cheese Station C, inspecting the area to see it there had been any changes from the day before.  Then they would sit down to nibble⁷ on the cheese.

One morning they arrived at Cheese Station C and discovered there were no cheese.

They weren’t surprised.  Since Sniff and Scurry had noticed the supply of cheese had been getting smaller every day, they were prepared for the inevitable⁸ and knew instinctively⁹ what to do.

They looked at each other, removed the running shoes they had tied together and hung conveniently around their necks, put them on their feet and laced them up.

The mice did not overanalyze things.  And they were not burdened with many complex beliefs.

To the mice, the problem and the answer were both simple.  The situation at Cheese station C had changed.  So, Sniff and Scurry decided¹⁰ to change.

They both looked out into the maze¹¹. Then Sniff lifted his nose, sniffed, and nodded to Scurry, who took off running through the maze while Sniff followed as fast as he could.

They were quickly off in search of New Cheese.

Later that same day, Hem and Haw arrived at Cheese Station C.  They had not been paying attention to the small changes that had been taking place each day, so they took it for granted their Cheese would be there.

They were unprepared for what they found. 
“What? No Cheese?” Hem yelled.  He continued yelling, “No Cheese? No Cheese?” as though if he shouted loud enough someone would put it back.

“Who moved my Cheese?” he hollered.
Finally, he put his hands on his hips¹³, his face turned red, and he screamed at the top of his voice, “It’s not fair!”

Haw just shook his head in disbelief.  He, too had counted on finding Cheese at Cheese Station C.  He stood there for a long time, frozen with shock.  He was just not ready for this.

Hem was yelling something, but Haw didn’t want to hear it.  He didn’t want to deal with what was facing him, so he just tuned¹⁴ everything out.

The little people’s behavior was not very attractive or productive but it was understandable.

Finding Cheese wasn’t easy, and it mean great deal more to the little people than just having enough of it to eat every day.

Finding Cheese was the littlepeople’s way of getting what they thought they needed to be happy.  They had their own ideas of what Cheese meant to them, depending on their taste.

For some, finding Cheese was having material things.  For others it was enjoying good health, or developing a spiritual sense of well-being¹⁵.

For Haw, Cheese just meant feeling safe, having loving family someday and living in a cozy¹⁶ cottage on Cheddar Lane.

To Hem, Cheese was becoming A Big Cheese in charge of others and owning a big house atop Camembert Hill.

Because Cheese was important to them, the two little people spent a long time trying to decide what to do.  All they could think of was to keep looking around Cheeseless Station C to see if the Cheese was really gone.

While Sniff and Scurry had quickly moved on, Hem and Haw continued to hem and haw.

They ranted¹² and raved¹⁷ at the injustice¹⁸ of it all.  Haw started to get depressed¹⁹.  What would happen if the Cheese wasn’t there tomorrow?  He has made future plans based on this Cheese.

The little people couldn’t believe it.  How could this have happened? No one had warned them.  It wasn’t right.  It was not the way things were supposed to be.

Hem and Haw went home that night hungry and discouraged.  But before they left, Haw wrote on the wall:

The More Important Your Cheese Is To You The More You Want To Hold On To It.

 

逐渐地，哼哼和唧唧的自信开始膨胀起来。面对成功，他们开始变得妄自尊大。在这种安逸的生活中，他们丝毫没有察觉到正在发生的变化。

　　随着时间的流逝，嗅嗅和匆匆日复一日地重复着他们的生活。每天早早地赶到奶酪C站，四处闻一闻、抓一抓，看看这区域和前一天有什么不一样。等到确定没有任何异常后他们才会坐下来细细品味奶酪，好好享受一番。

　　一天早上，当嗅嗅和匆匆到达奶酪C站时，发现这里已经没有奶酪了。

　　对此，他们并不感到吃惊。因为他们早已察觉到，最近好像有一些奇异的事情正在奶酪C站里发生，因为这里的奶酪已经越来越小，并且一天比一天少了。他们对这种不可避免的情况早有心理准备，而且直觉地知道该怎么办。

　　他们相互对望了一眼，毫不犹豫地取下挂在脖子上的跑鞋，穿上脚并系好鞋带。

　　两只小老鼠对此并没有做什么全面细致的分析，事实上，也没有足够复杂的脑细胞可以支持他们进行这么复杂的思维。

　　对老鼠来说，问题和答案都是一样的简单。奶酪C站的情况发生了变化，所以，他们也决定随之而变化。

　　他们同时望向迷宫深处。嗅嗅扬起他的鼻子闻了闻，朝匆匆点点头，匆匆立刻拔腿跑向迷宫的深处，嗅嗅则紧跟其后。

　　他们开始迅速行动，去别的地方寻找新的奶酪，甚至连头都没有回一下。

　　同一天的晚些时候，哼哼和唧唧也像往常一样地来到奶酪C站，一路上哼着小曲。他们过去一直没有察觉到这里每天都在发生的细小变化，而想当然地以为他们的奶酪还在那里。

　　面对新的情况，他们毫无准备。

　　“怎么！竟然没有奶酪？”哼哼大叫道，然后他开始不停地大喊大叫，“没有奶酪？怎么可能没有奶酪？”好象他叫喊地声音足够大的话，就会有谁把奶酪送回来似的。

　　“谁动了我的奶酪？”他声嘶力竭力地呐喊着。

　　最后，他把手放在屁股上，脸憋得通红，用他最大的嗓门叫道：“这不公平！”

　　唧唧则站在那里，一个劲地摇头，不相信这里已经发生的变化。对此，他同样没有任何心理准备，他满以为在这里照旧可以找到奶酪。他长时间地站在那里，久久不能动弹，完全被这个意外给惊呆了。

　　哼哼还在疯狂地叫嚷着什么，但唧唧不想听，他不想面对眼前的现实，他拼命地告诉自己，这只是一个噩梦，他只想回避这一切。

　　他们的行为并不可取，而且也于事无补，但我们总还是能够理解的。

　　要知道找到奶酪并不是一件容易的事情。更何况，对这两个小矮人来说，奶酷绝不仅仅只是一样填饱肚子的东西，它意味着他们悠闲的生活、意味着他们的荣誉、意味着他们的社交关系以及更多重要的事情。

　　对他们来说，找到酪是获得幸福的惟一途径。根据不同的偏爱，他们对奶酪的意义有各自的看法。

　　对有些人而言，奶酪代表的是一种物质上的享受；而对另一些人来说，奶酪意味着健康的生活，或者是一种安宁富足的精神世界。

　　对唧唧来说，奶酪意味着安定，意味着某一天能够拥有一个可爱的家庭，生活在名人社区的一座舒适的别墅里。

　　对哼哼来说，拥有奶酪可以使他成为大人物，可以领导很多很多的人，而且可以在卡米伯特山项上拥有一座华丽的宫殿。

　　由于奶酪对他们实在太重要了，所以这两个小矮人花了很长时间试图决定该怎么办。但他们所能够想到的，只是在奶酪C站里寻找，看看奶酪是否真的不存在了。

　　当嗅嗅和匆匆已经在迅速行动的时候，哼哼和唧唧还在那里不停地哼哼唧唧、犹豫不决。

　　他们情绪激动地大声叫骂这世界的不公平，用尽一切恶毒的语言去诅咒那个搬走了他们的奶酪的黑心贼。然后唧唧开始变得消沉起来，没有了奶酪，明天会怎样？他对未来的计划可是完完全全都建立在这些奶酪的基础上面的啊！

　　这两个小矮人就是不能接受这一切。这一切怎么可能发生呢？没有任何人警告过他们，这是不对的，事情不应该是这个样子的，他们始终无法相信眼前的事实。

　　那天晚上，哼哼和唧唧饥肠辘辘、沮丧地回到家里。在离开之前，唧唧在墙上写下了一句话：

　　奶酪对你越重要，你就越想抓住它。

1 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

2 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

3 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

4 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

5 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

12 ranted   

v.夸夸其谈( rant的过去式和过去分词 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨

参考例句：

• Drink in hand,he ranted about his adventures in Africa. 他端着酒杯，激动地叙述他在非洲的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Lu Xun ranted and raved against the enemy, but he felt warmth towards the people. 鲁迅对敌人冷嘲热讽，而对人民却是满腔热忱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

16 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

17 raved   

v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说

参考例句：

• Andrew raved all night in his fever. 安德鲁发烧时整夜地说胡话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They raved about her beauty. 他们过分称赞她的美。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

19 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。