Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Velveteen Rabbit

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursewry than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. for nursery magic is very strange and wonderful and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"REAL isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you when a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become REAL."
... "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are REAL, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are REAL you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

5 comments:

Wendy & Megan Chamberlain said...

Oh Pat
That story brings back memories. I had that book when I was a child and it is such a special story. I also have a velveteen rabbit so similar to the one in the picture. It was used as a teapot holder and is made from very faded velvet. I actually have a vintage pattern for a rabbit just like that one.
hugs
Wendy

Jenny Lee said...

That is just beautiful Pat! Always love these type of stories!! :D

Unknown said...

Ciao carissima!!!

Bellissimo racconto!!!

Bellissimo! ;o)

Un bacio ed un abbraccio grande!

KIsses and Hugs! ;o) NI

customteddys said...

Why am I crying??

Lynda (Granny K) said...

Hello Pat, Lovely to meet you. Thanks for visiting my blog. :o)