The next day Hem1 and Haw left their homes, and returned to Cheese Station C again, where they still expected, somehow, to find their Cheese.
The situation hadn’t changed, the Cheese was no longer there. The little people didn’t know what to do. Hem and Haw just stood there, immobilized like two statues.
Haw shut his eyes as tight as he could and put his hands over his ears. He just wanted to block everything out. He didn’t want to know the Cheese supply had gradually been getting smaller. He believed it had been moved all of a sudden.
Hem analyzed2 the situation over and over and eventually his complicated brain with its huge belief system took hold. “Why did they do this to me?” he demanded. “What’s really going on here?”
Finally, Haw opened his eyes, looked around and said, “By the way, where are Sniff3 and Scurry4? Do you think they know something we don’t?”
Hem scoffed5, “What would they know?”
Hem Continued, “They’re just simple mice. They just respond to what happens. We’re little people. We’re special. We should be able to figure this out. And, besides, we deserve better.
“This should not happen to us, or if it does, we should at least get some benefits.”
“Why should we get benefits?” Haw asked.
“Because we’re entitled,” Hem claimed.
“Entitled to what?” Hem wanted to know.
“We’re entitled to our Cheese.”
“Why?” Haw asked.
“Because, we didn’t cause this problem, “ Hem said. “Somebody else did this and we should get something out of it.”
Haw suggested, “Maybe we should stop analyzing6 the situation so much and get going and find some New Cheese.”
“Oh no,” Hem argued. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
While Hem and Haw were still trying to decide what to do, Sniff and Scurry were already well on their way. They went farther into the maze7, up and down corridors, looking for cheese in every Cheese Station they could find.
They didn’t think of anything else but finding New Cheese.
They didn’t find any for sometime until they finally went into an area of the maze where they had never been before: Cheese Station N.
They squealed8 with delight. They found what they had been looking for: a great supply of New Cheese.
They could hardly believe their eyes. It was the biggest store of cheese the mice had ever seen.
In the meantime, Hem and Haw were still back in Cheese Station C evaluating their situation. They were now suffering from the effects of having no Cheese. They were becoming frustrated9 and angry and were blaming each other for the situation they were in.
Now and then Haw thought about his mice buddies10, Sniff and Scurry, and wondered if they had found any cheese yet. He believed they might be having a hard time, as running through the maze usually involved some uncertainty11. But he also knew that it was likely to only last for a while.
Sometimes, Haw would imagine Sniff and Scurry finding New Cheese and enjoying it. He thought about how good it would be for him to be out on an adventure in the maze, and to find fresh New Cheese. He could almost taste it.
The more clearly Haw saw the image himself finding and enjoying the New Cheese, the more he saw himself leaving Cheese Station C.
“Let’s go!” he exclaimed, all of a sudden.
“No,” Hem quickly responded. “I like it here. It’s comfortable. It’s what I know. Besides it’s dangerous out there.”
“No it isn’t,” Haw argued. “We’ve run through many parts of the maze before, and we can do it again.”
“I’m getting too old for that,” Hem said. “And I’m afraid I’m not interested in getting lost and making a fool of myself. Are you?”
With that, Haw’s fear of failing returned and his hope of finding New Cheese faded.
So every day, the little people continued to do what they had done before. They went to Cheese Station C, found no Cheese, and returned home, carrying their worries and frustrations12 with them.
They tried to deny what was happening, but found it harder to get to sleep, had less energy the next day, and were becoming irritable13.
第二天，辗转难眠了一晚上的哼哼和唧唧早早地离开家又回到奶酪C站，不管怎样，他们抱着一线希望，他们不断地欺骗自己，假定昨天走错了地方，他们仍然希望找回他们的奶酪。奶酪站的位置没有变化，然而奶酪的的确确早已不复存在。两个小矮人顿时手足无措，不知道该怎么办。哼哼和唧唧只是站在那里，一动不动，就像两座毫无生气的雕像。
唧唧紧紧闭上眼睛，用手捂住自己的耳朵，他只想把一切都堵在外面。他不愿相信奶酪是逐渐变得越来越少的，他宁愿相信奶酪是突然之间被全部拿走的。
哼哼则把现在的情况分析了分析，他用他那复杂的大脑把他所有的信条都翻了个遍。“他们为什么要这样做？”他终究没能找到答案，“这里究竟发生了什么事情？”
终于，唧唧睁开了眼睛，朝周围看了看说：“顺便问一下，嗅嗅和匆匆现在在哪里？你是否觉得他们知道某些我们还不知道的事情？”
“那两个弱智，他们能够知道些什么？”哼哼的语气中充满了不屑。
他继续说：“他们只是头脑简单的老鼠，他们只会对发生的事情做出简单的反应。而我们是机灵聪明的小矮人，我们比老鼠有头脑。我们应该能够推测出这里的情况。”
“我知道我们更聪明，”唧唧说，“但是，我们现在的行为好像并不怎么聪明。我们周围的情况已经发生了变化，哼哼，也许我们需要做出一些改变，去做点什么不同的事情。”
“我们为什么要改变？”哼哼问道，“我们是小矮人，我们是不一样的。这样的事情不应该发生在我们的身上。即使出现了这样的情况，我们至少也应该从中得到一些补偿。”
“为什么我们应该得到一些补偿呢？”唧唧问。
“因为我们有这样的权力。”哼哼宣称。
“有什么样的权力？”唧唧不明白。
“有拥有我们的奶酪的权力。”
“为什么？”唧唧还是不明白。
“因为这个问题不是我们引起的，”哼哼说，“是某些别有用心的人制造了这个局面，而不是我们，所以我坚持认为我们总应该从中得到些补偿。”
“也许我们应该停止这种无用的分析，”唧唧提议，“分析问题到此为止。在我们还没有被饿死之前，我们应该赶紧出发去找新的奶酪。”
“噢，不！”哼哼反对说，“我就快要找到问题的根源了，要知道，我们曾经拥有过那么多、那么好的奶酪啊！”
当哼哼和唧唧还在争执着试图决定该怎么办的时候，嗅嗅和匆匆已经在很顺利地做他们的事情了。他们进入到了迷宫的更深处，走过一条又一条走廊，在每一个他们遇到的奶酪站里仔细寻找着奶酪。
除了倾尽全力地寻找新的奶酪，他们并不考虑任何别的事情。
有好一段时间，他们找得很辛苦却一无所获。直到他们走进迷宫中一个他们从未到过的地方：奶酪N站。
他们高兴得尖叫起来，他们终于发现了他们一直在寻找的东西：大量新鲜的奶酪。
他们简直不敢相信自己的眼睛，这是他们所见过的最大的奶酪仓库。
而与此同时，哼哼和唧唧仍然呆在奶酪C站，对他们目前的处境进行揣摩。他们正在忍受着失去了奶酪的痛苦，挫折感、饥饿感和由此而来的愤怒紧紧围绕着他们，折磨着他们，他们甚至为陷入眼前的困境而相互指责。
唧唧仍然时时想起他的老鼠朋友，猜想他们现在是否已经找到了奶酪。他相信他们也许过得很困难。在迷宫中穿行，总会面临许多难以预料的事情。但他也知道，什么事情也得有不容易的一个阶段。
有时，唧唧会想象出嗅嗅和匆匆已经找到了奶酪并正在享用它们的情景。他忽然有一种冲动，想到迷宫中冒险去寻找新的奶酪。在迷宫中探险，找到新的奶酪并尽情享用，这一切该是多么的美好啊！想到这里，他觉得仿佛自己已经尝到了新鲜奶酪的美味。
正在寻找和享用新的奶酪，这样的情景在唧唧的头脑中越来越清晰。他觉得自己越来越想离开奶酪C站，出发去寻找新的奶酪。
突然，他大声宣布道：“我们走吧！”
“不！”哼哼很快做出了反应：“我喜欢这里。我只熟悉这里，这里很好很舒服。再说，“离开这里到外面去是很危险的。”
“不会的，”唧唧说：“以前我们也曾经到过这个迷宫中的许多的地方，我们还可以再去其他地方找找看。”
“我觉得自己已经有些老了，不能再做这种跑来跑去到处冒险的事了。”哼哼说：“而且，我也不想象个傻瓜似的，时常迷路。你觉得呢？”
听哼哼这么一说，失败的恐惧感又袭上了唧唧的心头，他的那点发现新奶酪的希望又逐渐消退了。
就这样，这两个小矮人继续做着以前每天所做的事。他们仍然每天都去奶酪C站，发现还是找不到奶酪，然后怀着忧虑和挫败的心情回到家里。
他们试图否认眼前发生的一切，开始失眠，力气一天比一天小，变得越来越烦躁易怒。
收听单词发音 |
1
hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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2
analyzed
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| v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析 | |
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3
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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4
scurry
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| 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 | |
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5
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
analyzing
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| v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析 | |
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7
maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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8
squealed
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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10
buddies
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| n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人 | |
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11
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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12
frustrations
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| 挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意 | |
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13
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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