誰動了我的奶酪故事第四部分

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 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 analyzing 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 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 sometime 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 evaluating 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 buddies, 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 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.