第2节

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.

每天，哼哼和唧唧到达奶酪C站以后，就像回到了自己家一样，舒适地呆在那里。他们脱下身上的运动衣，把它们挂起来，甩掉脚上的鞋子，换上拖鞋。他们找到了奶酪，感觉实在是太惬意了。

“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.

“真是太好了！”哼哼说：“这里有这么多的奶酪，足够我们享用一辈子了。”小矮人们充满了幸福和成功的感觉，觉得从此可以无忧无虑了。

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.

不久，哼哼和唧唧更理所当然地认定，他们在奶酪C站发现的奶酪就是“他们自己的”奶酪了。这里的奶酪库存是如此的丰富，于是他们决定把家搬到更靠近奶酪C站的地方，还在周围一带开展了他们的社交活动。

To make themselves feel more at home, Hem and Haw decorated the walls sayings and even drew pictures of Cheese around them which made them smile. One read:

为了使这里有更象家的感觉，哼哼和唧唧把墙壁装饰了一通，还在墙上写了一些格言，并且精心地画上了一些非常可口的奶酪的图案。他们看着这些图画和格言，会心地笑了。其中一幅图画的内容是：

Having Cheese Makes You Happy

拥有奶酪，就拥有幸福。

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, huh?” Sometimes they shared it with their friends and sometimes they didn’t.

有时，他们会带朋友来参观他们在奶酪C站里成堆的奶酪，自豪地指着这些奶酪说：“多么美妙可口的奶酪呀，不是吗？”有时，他们还会与朋友们一起分享这些奶酪，而有时则单独享用。

“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.

“我们应该拥有这些奶酪，”哼哼说，“为了找到它们，我们可是付出了长期而艰苦的努力的，我们当然有资格拥有它们。”他一边说着一边拿起一块鲜美的奶酪放进嘴里，享用起来，脸上流露出幸福的光彩。

Afterwards, Hem fell asleep, as he often did.

然后，就像往常一样，哼哼享受完奶酪便睡着了，梦中还露出满足而惬意的笑容。

Every night the little people would waddle home, full of Cheese, and every morning they would confidently return for home.

每天晚上，小矮人们在美美地饱餐了奶酪后，就摇摇摆摆地走回家，第二天早上他们又会信心十足地走进奶酪C站，去享用更多奶酪。

This went on for quite some time. After a while Hem’s and Haw’s confidence grew into arrogance. Soon they became so comfortable they didn’t even notice what was happening.

逐渐地，哼哼和唧唧的自信开始膨胀起来。面对成功，他们开始变得妄自尊大。在这种安逸的生活中，他们丝毫没有察觉到正在发生的变化。

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 it there had been any changes from the day before. Then they would sit down to nibble on the cheese.

随着时间的流逝，嗅嗅和匆匆日复一日地重复着他们的生活。每天早早地赶到奶酪C站，四处闻一闻、抓一抓，看看这区域和前一天有什么不一样。等到确定没有任何异常后他们才会坐下来细细品味奶酪，好好享受一番。

One morning they arrived at Cheese Station C and discovered there were no cheese.

一天早上，当嗅嗅和匆匆到达奶酪C站时，发现这里已经没有奶酪了。

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.

对此，他们并不感到吃惊。因为他们早已察觉到，最近好像有一些奇异的事情正在奶酪C站里发生，因为这里的奶酪已经越来越小，并且一天比一天少了。他们对这种不可避免的情况早有心理准备，而且直觉地知道该怎么办。

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.

他们相互对望了一眼，毫不犹豫地取下挂在脖子上的跑鞋，穿上脚并系好鞋带。

The mice did not overanalyze things. And they were not burdened with many complex beliefs.

两只小老鼠对此并没有做什么全面细致的分析，事实上，也没有足够复杂的脑细胞可以支持他们进行这么复杂的思维。

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.

对老鼠来说，问题和答案都是一样的简单。奶酪C站的情况发生了变化，所以，他们也决定随之而变化。

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.

他们同时望向迷宫深处。嗅嗅扬起他的鼻子闻了闻，朝匆匆点点头，匆匆立刻拔腿跑向迷宫的深处，嗅嗅则紧跟其后。

They were quickly off in search of New Cheese.

他们开始迅速行动，去别的地方寻找新的奶酪，甚至连头都没有回一下。

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.

同一天的晚些时候，哼哼和唧唧也像往常一样地来到奶酪C站，一路上哼着小曲。他们过去一直没有察觉到这里每天都在发生的细小变化，而想当然地以为他们的奶酪还在那里。

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.

面对新的情况，他们毫无准备。“怎么！竟然没有奶酪？”哼哼大叫道，然后他开始不停地大喊大叫，“没有奶酪？怎么可能没有奶酪？”好象他叫喊地声音足够大的话，就会有谁把奶酪送回来似的。

“Who moved my Cheese?” he hollered.

“谁动了我的奶酪？”他声嘶力竭力地呐喊着。

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!”

最后，他把手放在屁股上，脸憋得通红，用他最大的嗓门叫道：“这不公平！”

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.

唧唧则站在那里，一个劲地摇头，不相信这里已经发生的变化。对此，他同样没有任何心理准备，他满以为在这里照旧可以找到奶酪。他长时间地站在那里，久久不能动弹，完全被这个意外给惊呆了。

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.

哼哼还在疯狂地叫嚷着什么，但唧唧不想听，他不想面对眼前的现实，他拼命地告诉自己，这只是一个噩梦，他只想回避这一切。

The little people’s behavior was not very attractive or productive but it was understandable.

他们的行为并不可取，而且也于事无补，但我们总还是能够理解的。

Finding Cheese wasn’t easy, and it mean great deal more to the little people than just having enough of it to eat every day.

要知道找到奶酪并不是一件容易的事情。更何况，对这两个小矮人来说，奶酷绝不仅仅只是一样填饱肚子的东西，它意味着他们悠闲的生活、意味着他们的荣誉、意味着他们的社交关系以及更多重要的事情。

Finding Cheese was the littlepeople’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.

对他们来说，找到酪是获得幸福的惟一途径。根据不同的偏爱，他们对奶酪的意义有各自的看法。

For some, finding Cheese was having material things. For others it was enjoying good health, or developing a spiritual sense of well-being.

对有些人而言，奶酪代表的是一种物质上的享受；而对另一些人来说，奶酪意味着健康的生活，或者是一种安宁富足的精神世界。

For Haw, Cheese just meant feeling safe, having loving family someday and living in a cozy cottage on Cheddar Lane.

对唧唧来说，奶酪意味着安定，意味着某一天能够拥有一个可爱的家庭，生活在名人社区的一座舒适的别墅里。

To Hem, Cheese was becoming A Big Cheese in charge of others and owning a big house atop Camembert Hill.

对哼哼来说，拥有奶酪可以使他成为大人物，可以领导很多很多的人，而且可以在卡米伯特山项上拥有一座华丽的宫殿。

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.

由于奶酪对他们实在太重要了，所以这两个小矮人花了很长时间试图决定该怎么办。但他们所能够想到的，只是在奶酪C站里寻找，看看奶酪是否真的不存在了。