"The cheese is a metaphor for what makes you happy. It can be anything," Jennings said. "The maze represents where you spend your time looking for what you want." ... Sniff and Scurry, who noticed the cheese dwindling, were prepared for the disappearance and head off into the maze to look for new cheese.
However, one day the cheese disappears, and it is the reaction to this disappearance that drives the rest of the book. "The cheese is a metaphor for what makes you happy. It can be anything," Jennings said. "The maze represents where you spend your time looking for what you want."
Like people confronting change, the four characters all react differently. Sniff and Scurry, who noticed the cheese dwindling, were prepared for the disappearance and head off into the maze to look for new cheese. Hem and Haw stay behind, however, complaining and feeling victimized. Eventually, Haw realize he must move on to search for more cheese, leaving Hem, who refuses to leave, behind.
Still, Haw leaves his thoughts in messages chiseled into walls hoping Hem eventually follows suit and learns from the messages. The book never says if Hem follows, but people at Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem can learn from Haw’s lessons, something Jennings tried to bring out. Some of these lessons include: change happens, anticipate change, monitor change, adapt to change quickly, change, enjoy change and be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again and again.
