I Moved Your Cheese Read Online Free PDF Page A

allow it.
    â€œAnd
that
is my pursuit.
    â€œYou are the first mouse with whom I share this because I know you will understand. And the reason I know this is simple …
    â€œI moved the cheese for all sorts of mice in the maze—and I influenced them. By moving their cheese, I changed how they thought, what they felt, which direction they traveled, and what they believed.
    â€œI moved
your
cheese, too, Zed—many times. And you simply did not care.”

WALLS
    Max had finished his tale. The look on his face suggested that he was content. He wanted nothing from Zed. He was not seeking approval. He was not looking for a specific reaction.
    â€œThank you for sharing your story with me,” said Zed. “Yours is truly a remarkable journey. You are a mouse like no other.”
    It was now dark.
    â€œLet’s talk more tomorrow,” Zed suggested. “It is getting late. Will you meet me here in the morning?”
    â€œYes,” said Max.
    Max expected Zed to get up and walk past him down the passage. Instead, Zed turned toward the corner and began to walk straight toward the wall. Max looked at him, confused. This was a dead end. Was Zed planning on staying here, in the corner, for the night? Had he become disoriented?
    Zed kept walking.
    It was perhaps a moment before Zed walked headfirst into the wall that Max opened his mouth to shout a warning: “Stop!”
    And then he saw it happen.
    Before his very eyes, Max saw Zed walk
through
the wall. He walked through it as if the wall were not even there … as if the wall were made of nothing but air … as if the wall simply didnot matter. And he was gone. Max stood there, staring blankly at the wall.
    A moment later, he heard Zed’s voice from the other side of the wall.
    â€œYou were right, Max,” he said. “It
is
possible to be free. And tomorrow, I will tell you
my
story.”
    Max sat down, utterly stunned. He knew Zed was smiling. He had to smile back.
    â€œAnd
I
have been the one talking this whole time,” Max thought to himself in amusement.

THE MAZE IN THE MOUSE
    Max arrived at their meeting place early the next morning. He had not slept all night. But he felt more awake—more alive—than ever. He noticed that he was looking down the long passage in anticipation of Zed. He had to laugh.
    Any other mouse would have to walk down that passage to come here, he thought. But Zed did not. He did not have to do anything. He could appear from anywhere.
    And then he saw Zed walking toward him, as any other mouse would, down the long passage. And he laughed again.
    Once they had greeted each other and were seated, Zed spoke.
    â€œYesterday, Max, before you started your story, you told me that everything you were going to tell me was true. ‘Even the impossible.’”
    â€œThat’s right,” agreed Max.
    â€œWell,” said Zed, “let
me
start by saying that nothing I will tell you is impossible.”
    Max nodded.
    Zed went on. “What would you say if I told you that there was no difference—none—between what you accomplished when you exited the maze and what I did last night?”
    â€œI would say that it may be true, but I don’t see how it is possible,” replied Max.
    â€œMax, how did you exit the maze?” asked Zed.
    â€œI reached for the top of the wall. I pulled myselfup. And then I climbed out. I had help. Big was there to help me up,” answered Max.
    â€œAll of that is true. But go back further in your story. Why are you the only mouse that has ever exited the maze? Why was Big there to help
you
? How did you get to a point in your life where you were reaching for the top of a wall?”
    Max thought for a moment. Then he answered. “I was the only one trying to get out.”
    â€œSo what,
essentially
, is the reason for your accomplishment?”
    â€œMy decision. My resolve. My
thought
. The thought that I would