Who Moved My Cheese?

The Story

UNCE, 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 who were 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 simple brains and good instincts,

searched for the hard nibbling cheese they liked, as mice often do.

The two Little people, Hem and Haw, used their complex brains, filled with

many beliefs and emotions, 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

favourite cheese.

The Maze was a labyrinth 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 trial-and-error

method of finding cheese. They ran down one corridor, and if it proved empty,

they turned and ran down another. They remembered the corridors that held

no cheese and quickly went into new areas.

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.

But after a while, they found their way.

Like the mice, the two Little people, Hem and Haw, also used their ability to

think and learn from their past experiences. However, they relied on their

complex brains to develop more sophisticated methods of finding Cheese.

Sometimes they did well, but at other times their powerful human beliefs and

emotions took over and clouded the way they looked at things. It made life in

the Maze more complicated and challenging.

Nonetheless, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw all discovered, in their own way,

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 just

assumed it would be there.

As soon as Hem and Haw arrived at Cheese Station C each morning, they

settled in and made themselves at home. 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. One read:

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, hub?" 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. Afterward,

Hem fell asleep, as he often did.

Every night the Little people would waddle home, full of Cheese, and every

morning they would confidently" title="ad.有信心地；自信地">confidently return for more. This went on for quite some

time.

After a while Hem's and Haw's confidence grew into the arrogance of

success. 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 and scurried around Cheese Station

C, inspecting the area to see if there had been any changes from the day

before. Then they would sit down to nibble on the cheese.

One morning they arrived at Cheese Station C and discovered there was 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

inevitable and knew instinctively 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 over analyze things. To the mice, the problem and the

answer were both simple. The situation at Cheese Station C had changed.

So, Sniff and Scurry decided to change.

They both looked out into the Maze. 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 hips, 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

tuned everything out.

The Little people's behavior was not very attractive or productive, but it was

understandable. Finding Cheese wasn't easy, and it meant a great deal more

to the Little people than just having enough of it to eat every day.

Finding Cheese was the Little people'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-being.

For Haw, Cheese just meant feeling safe, having a loving family someday and

living in a cozy 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 ranted and raved at the injustice of it all. Haw started to

get depressed. What would happen if the Cheese wasn't there tomorrow? He

had 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 next day Hem 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 analyzed 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 Sniff and Scurry? Do you think they know something we don't?" Hem

scoffed, "What would they know?"

Hem continued, "They're just mice. They just respond to what happens. We're

Little people. We're smarter than mice. We should be able to figure this out."

"I know we're smarter," Haw said, "but we don't seem to be acting smarter at

the moment.

Things are changing around here, Hem. Maybe we need to change and do

things differently."

"Why should we change?" Hem asked. "We're Little people. We're special.

This sort of thing 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?" Haw 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 simply stop analyzing the situation so

much and go 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 Maze, 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 some time until they finally went into an area of the

Maze where they had never been before: Cheese Station N.

They squealed 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 valuating

their situation. They were now suffering from the effects of having no Cheese.

They were becoming frustrated and angry and were blaming each other for

the situation they were in.

Now and then Haw thought about his mice friends. 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 uncertainty.

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 of 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 frustrations 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 irritable.

Their homes were not the nurturing places they once were. The Little people

had difficulty sleeping and were having nightmares about not finding any

Cheese.

But Hem and Haw still returned to Cheese Station C and waited there every

day.

Hem said, "You know if we just work harder we'll find that nothing has really

changed that much. The Cheese is probably nearby. Maybe they just hid it

behind the wall."

The next day. Hem and Haw returned with tools. Hem held the chisel, while

Haw banged on the hammer until they made a hole in the wall of Cheese

Station C. They peered inside but found no Cheese.

They were disappointed but believed they could solve the problem. So they

started earlier, stayed longer, and worked harder. But after a while, all they

had was a large hole in the wall.

Haw was beginning to realize the difference between activity and productivity.

"Maybe," Hem said, "we should just sit here and see what happens. Sooner or

later they have to put the Cheese back."

Haw wanted to believe that. So each day he went home to rest and returned

reluctantly with Hem to Cheese Station C. But Cheese never reappeared.

By now the Little people were growing weak from hunger and stress. Haw

was getting tired of just waiting for their situation to improve. He began to see

that the longer they stayed in their Cheeseless situation, the worse off they

would be.

Haw knew they were losing their edge.

Finally, one day Haw began laughing at himself.

"Haw, haw, look at us. We keep doing the same things over and over again

and wonder why things don't get better. If this wasn't so ridiculous, it would

be even funnier."

Haw did not like the idea of having to run through the Maze again, because he

knew he would get lost and have no idea where he would find any Cheese.

But he had to laugh at his folly when he saw what his fear was doing to him.

He asked Hem, "Where did we put our running shoes?" It took a long time to

find them because they had put everything away when they found their

Cheese at Cheese Station C, thinking they wouldn't be needing them

anymore.

As Hem saw his friend getting into his running gear, he said, "You're not really

going out into the Maze again, are you? Why don't you just wait here with me

until they put the Cheese back?"

"Because, you just don't get it," Haw said. "I didn't want to see it either, but

now I realize they're never going to put yesterday's Cheese back. It's time to

find New Cheese."

Hem argued, "But what if there is no Cheese out there? Or even if there is,

what if you don't find it?"

"I don't know," Haw said. He had asked himself those same questions too

many times and felt the fears again that kept him where he was.

He asked himself, "Where am I more likely to find Cheese-here or in the

Maze?"

He painted a picture in his mind. He saw himself venturing out into the Maze

with a smile on his face.

While this picture surprised him, it made him feel good. He saw himself

getting lost now and then in the Maze, but felt confident he would eventually

find New Cheese out there and all the good things that came with it. He

gathered his courage.

Then he used his imagination to paint the most believable picture he could-

with the most realistic details-of him finding and enjoying the taste of New

Cheese.

He saw himself eating Swiss cheese with holes in it, bright orange Cheddar

and American cheeses, Italian Mozzarella and wonderfully soft French

Camembert Cheese, and....

Then he heard Hem say something and realized they were still at Cheese

Station C.

Haw said, "Sometimes, Hem, things change and they are never the same

again. This looks like one of those times. That's life! Life moves on. And so

should we."

Haw looked at his emaciated companion and tried to talk sense to him, but

Hem's fear had turned into anger and he wouldn't listen.

Haw didn't mean to be rude to his friend, but he had to laugh at how silly they

both looked.

As Haw prepared to leave, he started to feel more alive, knowing that he was

finally able to laugh at himself, let go and move on.

Haw laughed and announced, "It's ... Maze ... time!"

Hem didn't laugh and he didn't respond.

Haw picked up a small, sharp rock and wrote a serious thought on the wall for

Hem to think about.

As was his custom. Haw even drew a picture of cheese around it, hoping it

would help Hem to smile, lighten up, and go after the New Cheese. But Hem

didn't want to see it.

It read:

Then, Haw stuck his head out and peered anxiously into the Maze. He

thought about how he'd gotten himself into this cheeseless situation.

He had believed that there may not be any Cheese in the Maze, or he may

not find it. Such fearful beliefs were immobilizing and killing him.

Haw smiled. He knew Hem was wondering,

"Who moved my cheese?" but Haw was wondering, "Why didn't I get up and

move with the Cheese, sooner?"