ONCE, long ago in a land far away, there lived four little characters who ran through a maze1 looking for cheese to nourish2 them and make them happy.
Two were mice, named “Sniff 3” and “Scurry4” and two were littlepeople-beings5 who were as small as mice but who looked and acted a lot like people today. Their names were “Hem6” and “Haw7.”
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, possessing8 only simple rodent9 brains, but good instincts10, searched for the hard nibbling11 cheese they liked, as mice often do.
The two littlepeople, Hem and Haw, used their brains, filled with many beliefs and emotions12, to search for a very different kind of Cheese—with a capital 13 C—which they believed would make them feel happy and successful.
As different as the mice and littlepeople were, they shared something in common: every morning, they each put on their jogging14 suits and running shoes, left their little homes, and raced out into the maze looking for their favorite cheese.
The maze was a labyrinth15 of corridors16 and chambers17, some containing delicious cheese. But there were also dark corners and blind alleys18 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 inefficient19, trial-and-error20 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 21 in the wrong direction and often bumped 22 into walls.
However, the two littlepeople, Hem and Haw, used a different method that relied on23 their ability to think and learn from their past experiences, although, they would sometimes get confused24 by their beliefs and emotions.
Eventually25 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 littlepeople dressed in their running gear26 and headed27 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 morsels28 that awaited them.
But after a while, a different routine set in29 for the littlepeople.
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 just assumed 30 it would be there.
As soon as Hem and Haw arrived at Cheese Station C each morning, they settled in31 and made themselves at home. They hung up32 their jogging suits, put away33 their running shoes and put on their slippers34. 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 littlepeople 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 decorated35 the walls with sayings and even drew pictures of Cheese around them which made them smile. One read:
Having Cheese Makes You Happy.
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.
“We deserve this Cheese,” Hem said. “We certainly had to work long and hard enough to find it.” He picked up a nice fresh piece and ate it.
Afterwards, Hem fell asleep, as he often did.
Every night the littlepeople would waddle36 home, full of Cheese, and every morning they would confidently return for more.
This went on for quite some time.
After a while Hem's and Haw's confidence grew into arrogance37. Soon they became so comfortable they didn't even notice what was happening.
As time went on, Sniff and Scurry continued their routine. They arrived early each morning and sniffed and scratched 38 and scurried 39 around Cheese Station C, inspecting40 the area to see if there had been any changes from the day before. Then they would sit down to nibble on the cheese.
从前，在一个遥远的地方，住着四个小家伙。为了填饱肚子和享受生活，他们终日穿行在一座迷宫里，寻找“奶酪”。
其中有两只小老鼠，一个叫“嗅嗅”，另一个叫“匆匆”。还有两个和老鼠一般大小的小矮人，模样和行为看上去像今天的人类。他俩一个叫“哼哼”，另一个叫“唧唧”。
由于他们个头太小，他们干什么自然不容易引起旁人注意。但如果凑近仔细看，你会发现非常令人称奇的事情！
每天两只小老鼠和两个小矮人在迷宫里打发时间，寻找适合自己的特别奶酪。嗅嗅、匆匆和其他啮齿类动物一样头脑简单，但直觉良好。和别的老鼠一样，他们寻找的是那种适合啃咬的硬奶酪。
两个小矮人，哼哼和唧唧，则靠脑袋行事，拥有各种信念和情感。他们要找的是一种不同寻常的奶酪——带有大写字母“C”的奶酪。他们相信，这样的奶酪会给他们带来快乐和成功。
尽管小老鼠和小矮人目标不同，但他们有一个共同点: 每天早上，他们各自穿上运动服和跑鞋，离开他们的小房子，跑进迷宫寻找他们各自钟爱的奶酪。
迷宫中有许多走廊和房间，其中一些藏有美味奶酪，但也有一些黑暗的角落和死胡同，任何人走进去都容易迷路。
然而，对找到出路的人来说，迷宫还有一些秘密，能使他们享受更美好的生活。
小老鼠嗅嗅和匆匆，总是运用简单低效的办法反复尝试寻找奶酪。他们跑进一条走廊，如果发现空空如也，就掉头拐进另一条走廊搜寻。
嗅嗅可以用他了不起的鼻子嗅出奶酪的大致方向，匆匆则跑在前面开路。不出所料，他们经常迷路走错方向，常常撞到墙上。
而两个小矮人，哼哼和唧唧，则依靠他们的思维能力，用不同的方法， 从过去的经验中学习。但有时也会被信念和感情弄糊涂。
最后，终于有一天，在某条走廊尽头的奶酪C站，他们凭借自己的方式找到了他们想要的东西。
从那以后，这四个家伙每天早上穿上跑步的行头，直奔奶酪C站。不久，他们建立了一条各自的常规线路。
嗅嗅和匆匆仍旧每天起得很早，总是沿着相同的路线跑进迷宫。
老鼠们到达目的地后，脱下跑鞋，将两只鞋系在一起，挂在脖子上——以便需要时随时取下。然后，他们开始尽情享用奶酪。
起初，哼哼和唧唧也是每天一大早赶到奶酪C站，享用等在那里的美味佳肴。
然而不久，小矮人们改变了他们的常规。
哼哼和唧唧每天起得晚了，穿戴也慢了，然后漫步走到奶酪C站。毕竟，他们知道了奶酪站的位置，也知道通向奶酪站的线路。
他们不知道奶酪从何而来，又是谁把它们放在了那里。他们想当然地认为，奶酪始终会放在那里。
每天早晨，哼哼和唧唧一到奶酪C站，就像回到了自己家，舒适地安顿下来。他们脱下运动衣把它们挂起来，放好鞋子，换上拖鞋。既然找到了奶酪，他们感觉惬意极了。
“太好了！”哼哼说：“这里有这么多奶酪，足够我们享用一辈子。”小矮人充满了幸福感和成功感，觉得从此可以无忧无虑了。
不久，哼哼和唧唧认定奶酪C站发现的奶酪就是属于他们的。这里的奶酪库存非常丰富，以致他们决定把家搬到更靠近奶酪C站的地方，并在周围一带展开社交活动。
为了让自己感觉更舒适，哼哼和唧唧把墙壁装饰了一通，在墙上写了一些格言，并画满了奶酪图案。这些图画和格言令他们喜形于色。有一句话是这样的：
拥有奶酪就拥有幸福。
有时，他们会带朋友来参观奶酪C站成堆的奶酪，自豪地指着这些奶酪说：“多么美妙可口的奶酪呀，不是吗？”有时，他们与朋友们一起分享这些奶酪，有时则单独享用。
“我们有资格拥有这些奶酪。”哼哼说，“为了找到它们，我们当然得付出长期的努力。”他拿起一块鲜美的奶酪放进嘴里。
然后，像平常一样，哼哼用完奶酪便睡着了。
每天晚上，饱餐一顿后，小矮人们就摇摇摆摆走回家，第二天早上又信心十足走进奶酪站，享用更多的奶酪。
这种情况持续了相当长一段时间。
后来，哼哼和唧唧的自信开始变成狂妄。不久，生活的安逸使他们丝毫没有察觉到正在发生的变化。
随着时间的推移，嗅嗅和匆匆继续着他们一成不变的生活。每天一早他们赶到奶酪C站，四处闻一闻、抓一抓，查看和前一天有什么不一样。然后他们才会坐下来咀嚼奶酪。
1． maze [meiz] n． 迷宫
2． nourish v． 滋养
3． sniff [snif] v． 用力吸，闻。此处用作人名，喻指人物善于观察变化
4． scurry v． 急赶， 急跑。此处用作人名，喻指人物行动迅速
5． being n． 生命，人
6． hem [hem] v． 嗯嗯。此处用作人名，喻指人物只会哼哼唧唧，不善变化
7． haw v． 发出呃[嗯]声
8． possess v． 占有，拥有
9． rodent n． 啮齿动物
10． instinct n． 本能
instinctive adj． 本能的
11． nibble v． 一点一点地咬，细啃
12． emotion n． 情绪，情感
13． capital n． 大写字母
14． jog v． 慢跑
15． labyrinth n． 迷路，迷宫
16． corridor n． 走廊
17． chamber n． 室，房间
18． alley n． 小巷，小径
19． inefficient adj． 效率低的
20． trial－and－error method 反复试验
21． go off 走掉，离去
22． bump v． 撞上
23． rely on 依赖，依靠
24． confuse v． 搞乱，使糊涂
25． eventually adv． 最后，终于
26． gear n． 衣服，行头
27． head [hed] over to．．． 朝…前进
28． morsel n． (食物)一口，少量
29． set in 开始
30． assume v． 假定，设想
31． settle in 安顿下来
32． hang up 把…挂起来
33． put away 放好
34． slipper n． 拖鞋
35． decorate v． 装饰
36． waddle v． 蹒跚而行
37． arrogance n． 傲慢，自大
38． scratch v． 抓
39． scurry v． 急跑，急转
40． inspect v． 检查，视察