Chapter 9

As he tried to find his way, Haw worried, at first, that he might have waited too long in Cheese Station C.  He hadn’t had any Cheese for so long that he was now weak.  It took him longer and it was more painful than usual to get through the maze.   He decided that if he ever got the chance again, he would adapt to change sooner.  It would make things easier.

Then, Haw smiled a weak smile as he thought, “Better late than never.”

During the next several days, Haw found a little Cheese here and there, but nothing that lasted very long.  He had hoped to find enough Cheese to take some back to Hem and encouraged him to come out into the maze.

But Haw didn’t feel confident enough yet.  He had to admit, he found it confusing in the maze.  Things seemed to have changed since the last time he was out here.

Just when he thought he was getting ahead, he would get lost in the corridors.  It seemed his progress was two steps forward and one step backwards.  It was a challenge, but he had to admit that being back in the maze, hunting for Cheese wasn’t nearly as bad as he feared it might be.

As time went on he began to wonder if it was realistic for him to expect to find New Cheese.  He wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew.  Then he laughed, realizing that he had nothing to chew on at the moment.

Whenever he started to get discouraged he reminded himself that what he was doing, as uncomfortable as it was at the moment, was in reality much better than saying in the Cheeseless situation.  He was taking control, rather than simply letting things happen to him.

Then he reminded himself, if Sniff and Scurry could move on, so could he!

Later, as Haw looked back on things, he realized that the Cheese at Cheese Station C had not just disappeared overnight, as he had once thought.  The amount of Cheese that had been there toward the end had been getting smaller, and what was left had grown old.  It didn’t taste as good.

Mold may even have begun to grow on the Old Cheese, although he hadn’t noticed it.  He had to admit however, that if he had wanted to, he probably could have seen what was coming.  But he didn’t.

Haw now realized that the change probably would not have taken him by surprise if he had been watching what was happening all along and if he had anticipated change.  Maybe that’s what Sniff and Scurry had been doing.

He stopped for a rest and wrote on the wall of the maze:

Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old.

Sometime later, after not finding Cheese for what seemed like a long time, Haw finally came across a huge Cheese Station which looked promising.  When he went inside, however, he was most disappointed to discover that the Cheese station was empty.

“This empty feeling has happened to me too often,” he thought.  He felt like giving up.

Haw wondered if Hem had moved on, or if he was still paralyzed by his fears.  Then, Haw remembered the times when he had felt his best in the maze.  It was when he had felt his best in the maze. It was when he was moving along.

 

在探路的时候,唧唧有些担心起来,一开始他还在奶酪C站犹豫了那么久,因为很长时间没有吃到奶酪了,他有些虚弱。现在,在迷宫中穿行要比以前更加吃力,花的时间更长。他打定主意,一旦再有机会,他一定要尽早走出舒适的环境去适应事情的变化。他觉得立刻采取措施会使事情更容易一些。

  想到这里,唧唧无力地微笑了一下,感叹道:“迟做总比不做好。”

  接下来的几天里,唧唧在周围偶而能够找到一点奶酪,但都吃不了多久。他曾经希望能够找到足够多的奶酪,带回去给哼哼,鼓励他离开原地,走进迷宫。

  但是,唧唧还是感到有些信心不足。他不得不承认,身在迷宫中,他感到十分困惑。里面很多地方跟以前完全不一样了。

  他这样想着朝前走去,他觉得自己已经走了好远,却又好像就要迷失在迂回曲折的走廊中了。这就好像是在走两步退一步,对他来说这真是一种挑战。不过他还是要承认,回到迷宫中寻找奶酪,其实并不像他想象的那样可怕。

  随着时间的流逝,他开始有些怀疑,找到新奶酪的希望是否能变成现实。有种幻觉,有时他怀疑是否自己嘴里的奶酪太多而嚼不过来,这时,想到自己根本没有东西可嚼,他不禁哑然失笑。

  每当他开始感到泄气的时候,他就提醒自己正在做什么。尽管现在很难受,但这样总比呆在没有奶酪的地方更实际。他在掌握控制权,而不是听天由命、束手无策。

  他还提醒自己,如果嗅嗅和匆匆能不断前行,那么自己也能做到!

  后来,唧唧回想起过去的事情,他终于明白奶酪C站的奶酪并不是像他曾经相信的那样一夜之间突然消失的。奶酪的数量是逐渐变少,直至完全消失的。而且,剩下的那一点也已经陈旧变质,美味丧失殆尽了。

  那些陈旧的奶酪上面或许已经生出了霉菌,只是他没有注意到罢了。他还得承认,只要他愿意,应该能够注意得到。可惜他当初没有留意这些变化。

  唧唧还认识到,如果他一直能够察觉到这些变化而且能够预见到这些变化,那么,这些变化就不会让他感到吃惊。也许,嗅嗅和匆匆一直就是这样做的。

  他打定主意,从现在起,他要时刻保持警觉。他要期待着发生变化,而且还要去追寻变化。他应该相信自己的直觉,能够意识到何时发生变化,并且能够做好准备去适应这些变化。

  他停下来休息了一会儿,并在迷宫的墙上写道:

  经常闻一闻你的奶酪,

  你就会知道,

  它什么时候开始变质。

  一段日子以后,好像已经很久没有找到奶酪了。这天,唧唧遇到了一个很大的奶酪站,看起来里面似乎装满了奶酪。他走进去以后,却发现里面空空如也,他失望至极。

  “这种空空的感觉,对我来说太平常了。”他叹息道,他觉得自己就快要放弃了。

  唧唧的体力正在慢慢地丧失。他知道自己迷路了,此刻他有些担心自己能不能活下去。他想转身回到奶酪C站去。回去后,至少哼哼还在那里,唧唧就不会孤单一人了。这时,他又问了自己一个同样的问题:“如果我无所畏惧,我又会怎样做呢?”

  唧唧觉得他正在克服和超越自己的恐惧,但他又越来越经常地感到害怕,害怕得甚至无法对自己承认。他常常难以确定自己到底害怕什么,但是在目前这样虚弱的状况下,他知道,他只是害怕一个人独自前行。唧唧其实并不清楚这一点,他只是在跟着这种感觉走,因为他一直在被这些恐惧的念头压迫着。

  唧唧想知道哼哼是否已经离开了C站开始出发去寻找新的奶酪,或者是否仍然被自己的恐惧所吓倒,仍旧裹足不前。这时,唧唧想起他在迷宫中度过的时光,那些他曾经觉得是最美好的时光,其实正是他一个人穿行在迷宫中找寻奶酪的时候。

  他又在墙上写下了一句话,以便提醒自己。同时,这句话也是一个标记,留给他的朋友哼哼,希望哼哼会跟上来。

  朝新的方向前进,

  你会发现新的奶酪。