Once, long ago in a land far away, there lived four little characters who ran through a maze¹ looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.

从前，在一个遥远的地方，住着四人小家伙。为了填饱肚子和享受乐趣，他们每天在不远处的一座奇妙的迷宫里跑来跑去，在那里寻找一种叫做"奶酪"的黄橙橙、香喷喷的食物。

Two were mice named ''Sniff³'' and ''Scurry⁴'' 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 "Hem²" and "Haw".

有两个小家伙是老鼠，一个叫"嗅嗅"，另一个叫"匆匆"。另外两个家伙则是小矮人，和老鼠一般大小，但和人一个模样，而且他们的行为也和我们今天的人类差不多。他的名字，一个叫"哼哼"，另一个叫"唧唧"。

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!

由于他们 四个实在太小了，他们在干什么当然不太会吸引起旁人的注意。但如果你凑近去仔细观察，你会发现许多令人惊奇不已的事情！

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 only simple rodent⁵ brains, but good instincts, searched for the hard nibbling⁶ cheese they liked, as mice often do.

两个老鼠和两个小矮人每天都在迷宫中度过，在其中寻找他们各自喜欢的奶酪。嗅嗅、匆匆的大脑和其他啮齿类动物的差不多一样简单，但他们有很好的直觉。和别的老鼠一样，他们喜欢的是那种适合啃咬的、硬一点的奶酪。

The two little people, Hem and Haw, used their 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.

而那两个小矮人，哼哼和唧唧，则靠脑袋行事，他们的脑袋里装满了各种信念和情感。他们要找的是一种带字母"C"的奶酪。他们相信，这样的奶酪会给他们带来幸福，使他们成功。

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 favorite cheese.

尽管小老鼠和小矮人的目标各不相同，但他们做的事情是差不多的。每天早上，他们会各自穿上运动服和慢跑鞋，离开他们的小房子，跑进迷宫寻找他们各自钟爱的奶酪。

The Maze was a labyrinth⁷ of corridors and chambers⁸, some containing delicious cheese. But there were also dark corners and blind alleys⁹ leading nowhere. It was an easy place for anyone to get lost.

迷宫中有许多曲折的走廊和好像蜂窝似的房间，其中的一些房间里藏着美味的奶酪，但更多的地方则是黑暗的角落和隐蔽的死胡同，任何人走进去都很容易迷路。

However, for those who found their way, the Maze held secrets that let them enjoy a better life.

同时，这座迷宫还有一种神奇的力量，对那些找到出路的人，它能使他们享受到美好的生活。

The mice, Sniff and Scurry, used a 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.

两上小老鼠，嗅嗅和匆匆，总是运用简单低效的反复尝试的办法找奶酪。他们跑进一条走廊，如果走廊里的房间都是空的，他们就返回来，再去另一个走廊搜寻。没有奶酪的走廊他们都会记住。就这样，很快地他们从一个地方找到另一个地方。

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.

嗅嗅可以用他那了不起的鼻子嗅出奶酪的大，匆匆则跑到前面开路。然而迷宫太大太复杂，如你所料，他们经常会迷路，离开正道走错了方向，有时甚至还会撞到墙上。

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.

而两个小矮人，哼哼和唧唧，则运用他们思考的能力，从过去的经验中学习。他们靠复杂的脑袋，搞出了一套复杂的寻找奶酪的方法。

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.

哼哼和唧唧的方法比他们的老鼠朋友要高效，然而有时候，人类复杂的头脑所带来的复杂感情也会战胜他们的理性思维，使他们看问题的眼光变得黯然起来。这也使得他们在迷宫中的生活更加复杂化，也更具有挑战性了。

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.

但是不管怎样，这四个家伙--嗅嗅与匆匆，哼哼和唧唧都以他们各自的方式不懈地追寻着他们想要得到的东西。最后，终于有一天，在某个走廊的尽头，在奶酪C站，他们都找到了自己想要的奶酪。

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.

从那以后，这四个家伙，小老鼠和小矮人，每天早上穿上他们的跑步装备后便毫不犹豫地直奔奶酪C站。不久，他们都建立了熟悉的路线，并形成了各自的生活习惯。

Sniff and Scurry continued to wake early every day and race through the Maze, always following the same route.

嗅嗅和匆匆仍旧每天都起得很早，然后沿着相同的路线跑进迷宫中。

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.

当老鼠们到达目的地后，他们脱下自己的跑鞋，有条不紊地将两只鞋系在一起，挂在脖子上--以便需要有时候能够很快穿上。然后，他们才开始尽情享用奶酪。

In the beginning, Hem and Haw also raced toward Cheese Station C every morning to enjoy the tasty new morsels¹⁰ that awaited them.

在刚开始的一段时间里，哼哼和唧唧也是如此行事，每天早晨赶到奶酪C站，按部就班的把鞋子挂在脖子上，享用在那里等着他们的美味佳肴。

But after a while, a different routine set in for the little people.

然而，不久以后，小矮人们改变了他们的常规。

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.

哼哼和唧唧每天起得比老鼠们晚一些，懒懒地穿好运动服，然后信步走到奶酪C站。不管怎样，反正已经找到了奶酪。

They had no idea where the Cheese came from, or who put it there. They just assumed it would be there.

他们从没想过，奶酪是从哪里来的，是谁把它们放在那里的。他们只是理所当然地认为，奶酪总是会在那里的。