Who Moved My Cheese?| Free Online Novels

The one-minute manager from the bestselling novel Who Moved My Cheese

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Once, long ago in a land far away, there lived four little characters who ran through a maze

looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.

Two were mice named “Sniff” and “Scurry” 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 “Hem” and “Haw.”

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!

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 rodent brains, but good instincts, searched for

the hard nibbling cheese they liked, as mice often do.

The two little people, Hem and Haw, used their brains, filled with many beliefs, to search for a

very different kind of Cheese- with a capital C- which they believed would make them feel happy and

successful.

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.

The maze was a labyrinth of corridors and chambers, some containing delicious cheese. But there

were also dark corners and blind alleys leading nowhere. It was an easy place for anyone to get lost.

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

The mice, Sniff and Scurry, had only simple brains. So, they just used the simple, but inefficient,

trial-and-error method of finding cheese.

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.

However, the two little people, Hem and Haw, had complex brains- with beliefs and emotions- that

made life in the maze more complicated and challenging. They relied on a more sophisticated method of

finding Cheese that depended on their ability to think and learn from their past experiences, although their

abilities were clouded by the way they looked at things.

Eventually, in their own way, they all discovered 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.

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.

Sniff and Scurry continued to wake up early every day and race through the maze, always

following the same route.

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.

In the beginning, Hem and Haw also raced toward Cheese Station C every morning to enjoy the

tasty new morsels that awaited them.

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

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 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. 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.

“This is great,” Hem said. “There’s enough Cheese here to last us forever.” The little people felt

happy and successful, and though they were now secure.

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 closer to it, and built a

social life around it.

To make themselves feel more at home, Hem and Haw decorated the walls with sayings and even

drew pictures of Cheese around them, which made them smile. One read:

Having Cheese Makes You Happy:

Sometimes Hem and Haw would take their friends by to see their pile of Cheese and 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.

Afterward, Hem fell asleep, as he often did.

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

confidently return for more.

This went on for quite some time.

After a while Hem and Haw’s confidence grew into arrogance. 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 and scurried around Cheese Station C, inspecting the area to see if there had been any

changes from the day before. Then they would sit down to nibble 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

small every day, they were prepared for the inevitable and knew instinctively 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. And they were not burdened with many complex beliefs.

To the mice, the problem and 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.

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 and Cheese Station

C. He stood there for a long time, frozen with shock. He was just not ready for this.

The 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.

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

Finding Cheese wasn’t easy, and it meant a great deal more to the little people than just having

enough of it to eat every day.

Finding Cheese was the little people'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.

For some, finding Cheese was having material things. For others, it was enjoying good health or

developing a spiritual sense of well-being.

For Haw, Cheese just meant feeling safe, having a loving family someday, and living in a cozy

cottage on Cheddar Lane.

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

Camembert Hill.

do. All they could think of was to keep looking around Cheeseless Station C to see if the Cheese

was really gone.

While Sniff and Scurry had quickly moved on, Hem and Haw continued to hem and haw.

They ranted and raved at the injustice of it all. Haw started to get depressed. What would happen

if the Cheese wasn’t there tomorrow? He had made future plans based on this Cheese.

The little people couldn’t believe it. How could this have happened? No one had warned them. It

wasn’t right. It was not the way things were supposed to be.

Hem and Haw went home that night hungry and discouraged. But before they left, Haw wrote on

the wall:

The More Important The Cheese Is To You The More You Want To Hold On To It.

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.

He 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?”

He 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?” Haw 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 just 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 some time 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 of 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.

Their homes were not the nurturing places they once were. The little people had difficulty sleeping

and were having nightmares about not finding any Cheese.

But Hem and Haw still returned to Cheese Station C and waited there every day.

Hem said, “You know, if we just work harder we’ll find that nothing has really changed that

much. The Cheese is probably nearby. Maybe they just hid it behind the wall.”

The next day, Hem and Haw returned with tools. Hem held the chisel while Haw banged on the

hammer until they made a hole in the wall of Cheese Station C. They peered inside but found no Cheese.

They were disappointed but believed they could solve the problem. So they started earlier, stayed

longer, and worked harder. But after a while, all they had was a large hole in the wall.

Haw was beginning to realize the difference between activity and productivity.

“Maybe,” Hem said, “We should just sit here and see what happens. Sooner or later they have to

put the Cheese back.”

Haw wanted to believe that. So each day he went home to rest and returned reluctantly with Hem

to Cheese Station C. But Cheese never reappeared.

By now the little people were growing weak from hunger and stress. Haw was getting tired of just

waiting for their situation to improve. He began to see that the longer they stayed in their Cheeseless

situation, the worse off they would be.

Haw knew they were losing their edge.

Finally, one day Haw began laughing at himself. “Haw, haw, look at me. I keep doing the same

things over and over again and wonder why things don’t get better. If this wasn’t so ridiculous, it would be

even funnier.”

Haw did not like the idea of having to run through the maze again, because he knew he would get

lost and have no idea where he would find any Cheese. But he had to laugh at his folly when he saw what

his fear was doing to him.

He asked Hem, “Where did we put our jogging suits and running shoes?” It took a long time to

find them because they had put everything away when they found their Cheese at Cheese Station C,

thinking they wouldn’t be needing them anymore.

As Hem saw his friend getting into his running gear, he said, “You’re not really going out into the

maze again, are you? Why don’t you just wait here with me until they put the Cheese back?”

“Because, you just don’t get it,” Haw said. “I didn’t want to see it either, but now I realize they’re

never going to put the Old Cheese back. That was yesterday’s Cheese. It’s time to find New Cheese.”

Hem argued, “But what if there is no Cheese out there? Or even if there is, what if you don’t find

it?”

“I don’t know,” Haw said. He had asked himself those same questions too many times and started

to feel the fears again that kept him where he was.

Then he thought about finding New Cheese and all the good things that came with it and gathered

his courage.

“Sometimes,” Haw said, “things change and they are never the same again. This looks like one of

those times, Hem. That’s a lie! Life moves on. And so should we.”

Haw looked at his emaciated companion and tried to talk sense to him, but Hem’s fear had turned

into anger and he wouldn’t listen.

Haw didn’t mean to be rude to his friend, but he had to laugh at how silly they both looked.

As Haw prepared to leave, he started to feel more alive, knowing that he was finally able to laugh

at himself, let go and move on.

He announced, “It’s maze time!”

Hem didn’t laugh and he didn’t respond.

Haw picked up a small, sharp rock and wrote a serious thought on the wall for Hem to think about.

As was his custom, Haw even drew a picture of cheese around it, hoping it would help Hem to smile,

lighten up, and go after the New Cheese. But Hem didn’t want to see it.

It read:

If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct.

Then, Haw stuck his head out and peered anxiously into the maze. He thought about how he’d

gotten himself into this cheeseless situation.

He had believed that there may be any Cheese in the maze, or he may not find it. Such fearful

beliefs were immobilizing and killing him.

Haw smiled. He knew Hem was wondering, “Who moved my Cheese?” but Haw was wondering,

“Why didn’t I get up and move with the Cheese sooner?”

As he started out into the maze, Haw looked back to where he had come from and felt its comfort.

He could feel himself being drawn back into familiar territory- even though he hadn’t found any Cheese

there for some time.

Haw became more anxious and wondered if he really wanted to go out into the maze. He wrote a

saying on the wall ahead of him and stared at it for some time:

What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

He thought about it.

He knew sometimes some fear can be good. When you are afraid things are going to get worse if

you don’t do something, it can prompt you into action. But it is not good when you are so afraid that it

keeps you from doing anything.

He looked to his right, to the part of the maze where he had never been, and felt the fear.

Then, he took a deep breath, turned right into the maze, and jogged slowly, into the unknown.

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 encourage 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 there.

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 backward. 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 staying 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 has 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 have even 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 was losing his physical strength. He knew he was lost and was afraid he would not survive.

He thought about turning around and heading back to Cheese Station C. At least, if he made it back, and

The hem was still there, Haw wouldn’t be alone. Then he asked himself the same question, again: “What

would I do if I weren’t afraid?”

He was afraid more often than he liked to admit, even to himself. He wasn’t always sure what he

was afraid of, but, in his weakened condition, he knew now he was simply fearful of going on alone. Haw

didn’t know it, but he was running behind because he was weighed down by fearful beliefs.

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 was moving along.

He wrote on the wall, know

Movement In A New Direction Helps You Find New Cheese.

Haw looked down the dark passageway and was aware of his fear. What lay ahead? Was it

empty? Or worse, were there dangers lurking? He began to imagine all kinds of frightening things that

could happen to him. He was scaring himself to death.

Then he laughed at himself. He realized his fears were making things worse. So he did what he

would do if he wasn’t afraid. He moved in a new direction.

As he started running down the dark corridor he began to smile. Haw didn’t realize it yet, but he

was discovering what nourished his soul. He was letting go and trusting what lay ahead for him, even

though he did not know exactly what it was.

To his surprise, Haw started enjoying himself more and more. “Why do I feel so good?” he

wondered. “I don’t have any Cheese and I don’t know where I am going.”

Before long, he knew why he felt good.

He stopped to write again on the wall:

When You Move Beyond Your Fear, You Feel Free.

Haw realized he had been held captive by his own fear. Moving in a new direction had freed him.

Now he felt the cool breeze that was blowing in his part of the maze and it was refreshing. He

took in some deep breaths and felt invigorated by the movement. Once he had gotten past his fear, it turned

out to be more enjoyable than he once believed it could be.

Haw hadn’t felt this way for a long time. He had almost forgotten how much fun it was.

To make things even better, Haw started to paint a picture in his mind. He saw himself in great

realistic detail, sitting in the middle of a pile of all his favorite cheeses- from Cheddar to Brie! He saw

himself eating the many kinds of cheese he liked, and he enjoyed what he saw. Then he imagined how much he

would enjoy all their great tastes.

The more clearly he swathes the image of New Cheese, the more real it became, and the more he could

the sense that he was going to find it.

He wrote:

Imagining Myself Enjoying New Cheese Even Before I Find It, Leads Me To It.

“Why didn’t I do this before?” Haw asked himself.

Then he raced through the maze with greater strength and agility. Before long he spotted a Cheese

Station and became excited as he noticed little pieces of New Cheese near the entrance.

They were types of Cheeses he had never seen before, but they looked great. He tried them and

found that they were delicious. He ate most of the New Cheese bits that were available and put a few in his

pocket to have later and perhaps share with Hem. He began to regain his strength.

He entered the Cheese Station with great excitement. But to his dismay, he found it was empty.

Someone had already been there and had left only a few bits of New Cheese.

He realized that if he had moved sooner, he would very likely have found a good deal of New

Cheese here.

Haw decided to go back and see if Hem was ready to join him.As he retraced his steps, he stopped

and wrote on the wall:

The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Find New Cheese.

After a while, Haw made his way back to Cheese Station C and found Hem. He offered Hem bits

of New Cheese but was turned down.

Hem appreciated his friend’s gesture but said, “I don’t think I would like New Cheese. It’s not

what I am used to. I want my own Cheese back and I’m not going to change until I get what I want.”

Haw just shook his head in disappointment and reluctantly went back out on his own. As he

returned to the farthest point he had reached in the maze, he missed his friend but realized he liked what he

was discovering. Even before he found what he hoped would be a great supply of New Cheese if ever, he

knew that what made him happy wasn’t just having Cheese.

He was happy when he wasn’t being run by his fear. He liked what he was doing now.

Knowing this, Haw didn’t feel as weak as he did when he stayed in Cheese Station C with no

Cheese. Just realizing he was not letting his fear stop him and knowing that he had taken a new direction

nourished him and gave him strength.

Now he felt that it was just a question of time before he found what he needed. In fact, he sensed

he had already found what he was looking for.

He smiled as he realized:

It Is Safer To Search In The Maze Than Remain In A Cheeseless SituationIt Is Safer To Search In The Maze Than Remain In A Cheeseless Situation

Haw realized again, as he had once before, that what you are afraid of is never as bad as what you

imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.

He’d been so afraid of never finding New Cheese that he didn’t even want to start looking. But

since starting his journey he had found enough Cheese in the corridors to keep him going. Now he looked

forward to finding more. Just looking ahead was becoming exciting.

His old thinking had been clouded by his worries and fears. He used to think about not having

enough Cheese, or not having it last as long as he wanted. He used to think more about what could go

wrong than what could go right.

But that had changed in the days since he had left Cheese Station C.

He used to believe that Cheese should never be moved and that change wasn’t right.

Now he realized it was natural for change to continually occur, whether you expect it to or not.

The change could surprise you only if you didn’t expect it and weren’t looking for it.

When he realized he had changed his beliefs, he paused to write on the wall:

Old Beliefs Do Not Lead You To New Cheese

Haw hadn’t found any Cheese yet but, as he ran through the maze, he thought about what he had

already learned.

Haw now realized that his new beliefs were encouraging new behaviors. He was behaving

differently than when he kept returning to the same cheeseless station.

He knew when you change what you believe, you change what you do.

You can believe that a change will harm you and resists it. Or you can believe that finding New

The cheese will help you embrace the change.

It all depends on what you choose to believe.

He wrote on the wall:

When You See That You Can Find And Enjoy New Cheese, You Change Course

Haw knew he would be in better shape now if he had embraced the change much sooner and left

Cheeseless Station C earlier. He would feel stronger in body and spirit and he could have coped better with

the challenge of finding New Cheese. In fact, he probably would have found it by now if he had expected

change, rather than wasting time denying that the change had already taken place.

He gathered his will and decided to keep proceeding into the newer parts of the maze. He found

little bits of cheese here and there and began to regain his strength and confidence.

As he thought back on where he had come from, Haw was glad he had written on the wall in many

places. He trusted it would serve as a marked trail for Hem to follow through the maze if he chose to leave

Cheese Station C.

He just hoped he was heading in the right direction. He thought about the possibility that Hem

would read The Handwriting On The Wall and find his way.

He wrote on the wall what he had been thinking about for some time:

Noticing Small Changes Early Helps You Adapt To The Bigger Changes That Are

To Come.

By now, Haw had let go of the past and was adapting to the present.

He continued on through the maze with greater strength and speed. And before long, it happened.

When it seemed like he had been in the maze forever, his journey- or at least part of his journey ended

quickly and happily.

Haw found New Cheese at Cheese Station N!

When he went inside, he was startled by what he saw. Piled high everywhere was the greatest

supply of Cheese he had ever seen. He didn’t recognize all that he saw, as some kinds of Cheese were new

to him.

Then he wondered for a moment whether it was real or just his imagination until he saw his old

friends Sniff and Scurry.

Sniff welcomed Haw with a nod of his head and Scurry waved his paw. Their fat little bellies

showed that they had been here for some time.

Haw quickly said his hellos and soon took bites of every one of his favorite Cheeses. He pulled

off his shoes and jogging suit and folded them neatly nearby in case he needed them again. Then he

jumped into the New Cheese. When he had eaten his fill, he lifted a piece of fresh Cheese and made a

toast. “Hooray for Change!”

As Haw enjoyed the New Cheese, he reflected on what he had learned.

He realized that when he had been afraid to change he had been holding on to the illusion of Old

The cheese was no longer there.

So what was it that made him change? Was it the fear of starving to death? Haw thought, “Well,

that helped.”

Then he laughed and realized that he had started to change as soon as he had learned to laugh at

himself and at what he had been doing wrong. He realized the fastest way to change is to laugh at your

own folly- then you can let go and quickly move on.

He knew he had learned something useful about moving on from his mice buddies, Sniff and

Scurry. They kept life simple. They didn’t overanalyze or overcomplicate things. When the situation

changed and the Cheese had been moved, they changed and moved with the Cheese. He would remember

that.

Then Haw used his wonderful brain to do what little people do better than mice.

He reflected on the mistakes he had made in the past and used them to plan for his future. He

knew that you could learn to deal with change:

You could be more aware of the need to keep things simple, be flexible, and move quickly.

You did not need to overcomplicate matters or confuse yourself with fearful beliefs.

You could notice when the little changes began so that you would be better prepared for the big

change that might be becoming.

He knew he needed to adapt faster, for if you do not adapt in time, you might as well not adapt at

all.

He had to admit that the biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself and that nothing gets

better until you change.

Perhaps most important of all, he realized that there is always New Cheese out there whether you

recognize it at the time or not. And that you are rewarded with it when you go past your fear and enjoy the

adventure.

He knew some fear should be respected, as it can keep you out of real danger. But he realized

most of his fears were irrational and had kept him from changing when he needed to change.

He didn’t like it at the time, but he knew that the change had turned out to be a blessing in disguise

as it led him to find better Cheese.

He had even found a better part of himself.

As Haw recalled what he had learned, he thought about his friend Hem. He wondered if Hem had

read any of the sayings Haw had written on the wall at Cheese Station C and throughout the maze.

Had Hem ever decided to let go and move on? Had he ever entered the maze and discovered what

could make his life better?

Haw thought about going back again to Cheese Station C to see if he could find Hem- assuming

that Haw could find his way back there. If he found Hem, he thought he might be able to show him how to

get out of his predicament. But Haw realized that he had already tried to get his friend to change.

Hem had to find his own way, beyond his comforts and past his fears. No one else could do it for

him, or talk him into it. He somehow had to see the advantage of changing himself.

Haw knew he had left a trail for Hem and that he could find his way if he could just read The

Handwriting On The Wall.

He went over and wrote down a summary of what he had learned on the largest wall of Cheese

Station N. He drew a large piece of cheese around all the insights he had become aware of and smiled as

he looked at what he had learned: