Who Moved My Cheese? (Excerpt）

Spencer Johnson

Once,long ago in a land far away,there lived four little characters who ran through a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.Two were mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry” and two were little people—beings whowere as small as mice but who looked and acted a lot like people today.Their names were “Hem” and “Haw”.

Due to their small size,it would be easy not to notice what the four of them were doing.But if you looked closely enough,you could discover the most amazing things!

Every day the mice and the little people spent time in the maze looking for their own special cheese.The mice,Sniff and Scurry,possessing only simple rodent（嚙齒動物）brains,but good instincts,searched for the hard nibbled cheese they like,as mice often do.The two little people,Hem and Haw,used their brains,filled with many beliefs,to search for a very different kind of cheese—with a capital C—which they believed would make them feel happy and successful.

As different as the mice and little people were,they shared something in common;every morning,they each put on their jogging suits and running shoes,left their little homes,and raced out into the maze looking for their favorite cheese.

The maze was a labyrinth（迷 宮）of corridors and chambers,some containing delicious cheese.But there were also dark corners and blind alleys leading nowhere.It was an easy place for anyone to get lost.However,for those who found their way,the maze held secrets that let them enjoy a better life.The mice,Sniff and Scurry,used the simple,but inefficient,trialand-error method of finding cheese.They ran down one corridor and if it proved empty,they turned and ran down another.

Sniff would smell out the general direction of the cheese,using his great nose,and Scurry would race ahead.They got lost,as you might expect,went off in the wrong direction and often bumped into walls.

However,the two little people,Hem and Haw,used a different method that relied on their ability to think and learn from their past experiences,although they would sometimes get confused by their beliefs and emotions.

Eventually in their own way,they all discovered what they were looking for —they each found their own kind of cheese one day at the end of one of the corridors in Cheese Station C.Every morning after that,the mice and the little people dressed in their running gear and headed over to Cheese Station C.It wasn't long before they each established their own routine.Sniff and Scurry continued to wake early every day and race through the maze,always following the same route.

When they arrived at their destination,the mice took off their running shoes,tied them together and hung them around their necks—so they could get to them quickly whenever they needed them again.Then they enjoyed the cheese.

In the beginning,Hem and Haw also raced toward Cheese Station C every morning to enjoy the tasty new morsels that awaited them.But after a while,a different routine set in for the little people.Hem and Haw awoke each day a little later,dressed a little slower,and walked to Cheese Station C.After all,they knew where the cheese was now and how to get there.

They had no idea where the cheese came from,or who put it there.They hung up their jogging suits,put away their running shoes and put on their slippers.They were becoming very comfortable now that they had found the cheese.“This is great,” Hem said.“There's enough cheese here to last us forever.” The little people felt happy and successful,and thought they were now secure.

It wasn't long before Hem and Haw regarded the cheese they found at Cheese Station C as their cheese.It was such a large store of cheese that they eventually moved their homes to be closer to it,and built a social life around it.

To make themselves feel more at home,Hem and Haw decorated the walls with sayings and even drew pictures of cheese around them which made them smile.Sometimes Hem and Haw would take their friends by to see their pile of cheese at Cheese Station C,and point to it with pride,saying,“Pretty nice cheese,huh?” Sometimes they shared it with their friends and sometimes they didn't.

Reading Check

How did Hem and Haw's behavior change after they found cheese at Cheese Station C?