Every morning after that, the mice and the Littlepeople dressed in their running gear (衣服) and headed over to Cheese Station C.
It wasn't long before they each established their own routine.{1}
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 (目的地), the mice took off (脱下) 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 (美味的) new morsels (一小份) that awaited them.
But after a while, a different routine set in 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 (想当然地认为) 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.{2}
They hung up their jogging suits, put away their running shoes and put on their slippers (拖鞋).
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 (无忧无虑的；安心的).
It wasn't long before Hem and Haw regarded the Cheese they found at the 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 (装饰) the walls with sayings (警句；格言) and even drew pictures of Cheese around them which made them smile. {3}
One read:
Having Cheese Makes You Happy.
Sometimes Hem and Haw would take their friends by to see their pile (摞；堆) 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 waddle (蹒跚而行) 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 the arrogance (自大) of success.{4}
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 (抓；搔) and scurried (碎步快跑) around Cheese Station C, inspecting (检查) the area to see if there had been any changes from the day before.
Then they would sit down to nibble (啃、小口咬) 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 (不可避免的) and knew instinctively (本能地) 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 overanalyze 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.{5}
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.
