The Velveteen Rabbit

A soft and fluffy Velveteen Rabbit lived in a toybox in a Boy's room. Each day, the Boy opened the toybox and picked up Velveteen Rabbit. And Velveteen Rabbit was happy.

Then newer, brighter toys came into the toybox. They had special tricks. Some could move when the Boy pushed a button. Others bounced high. Velveteen Rabbit had no special tricks or buttons. No wonder the Boy started to choose the new toys.

At night, when the toys were all back in the toybox, the other toys talked with pride about the special things they could do. Velveteen Rabbit was quiet. There was not much to say.

Only one other toy in the toy box was like Velveteen Rabbit. Cowboy Horse was also a soft, fluffy toy. But he was old. Most of his hair was worn away. He had only one eye left.

Cowboy Horse said to Velveteen Rabbit, “Soft toys like us are really the lucky ones. We get loved the most. And when soft toys get loved and loved, we can become Real.”

“What is Real?” said Velveteen Rabbit. “Being Real is the best," said Cowboy Horse. "You can move when you want to move. When you are Real, if you are loved, you can show your love back.”

This all sounded fine to Velveteen Rabbit. But how could that ever happen? After all, the Boy was playing with toys that could do special things.

One day Nana, who took care of the Boy, opened the lid of the toy box. She said, “Oh, dear! That walking dog is missing. I must find something else for the Boy!” She picked up Velveteen Rabbit and put it down on the bed with the Boy.

This began another happy time for Velveteen Rabbit. Each night the Boy would hold Velveteen Rabbit close in his arms. In the morning, the Boy would show Velveteen Rabbit how to make rabbit holes under the sheets. If the Boy went outside, Velveteen Rabbit would come with him, too.

Soon, with the hugging and holding, much of Velveteen Rabbit’s fur was worn. Its pink nose grew less pink with all the Boy’s kisses. But Velveteen Rabbit did not care. It was happy.

One day the Boy became sick. His forehead got very hot. The doctor came and went. Nana walked back and forth in fear. Day after day, the Boy stayed in bed. There was nothing for Velveteen Rabbit to do but to stay in bed, too, day after day.

Then at last, the Boy got better. Such joy in the house! The doctor said the Boy must go to the shore. How wonderful! thought Velveteen Rabbit. Many times the Boy had talked happily about the shore, and told of its white sands and big blue ocean.

“What about this old bunny?” Nana asked the doctor.
“That old thing?” said the doctor. “It’s full of scarlet fever germs. Burn it at once! Get him a new bunny.”

So Velveteen Rabbit was thrown into a bag along with the Boy's bed sheets and old clothes. The bag was carried to the backyard. The gardener was told to burn it.

But the gardener was too busy picking the beans and peas before dark, so he left the bag behind. “I will take care of it tomorrow,” he said.

The bag was not tied at the top, and Velveteen Rabbit fell out. The next day when the gardener picked up the bag to take it to be burned, Velveteen Rabbit was left on the ground.

Then it started to rain. Velveteen Rabbit was sad. It was far away from the Boy and now soaking wet! A tear fell from Velveteen Rabbit’s eye, down his cheek. It fell onto the grass. All at once a flower grew where the tear fell. Then the flower opened. There was a tiny Fairy!

“Little Rabbit,” said the Fairy. “Do you know who I am?”
“I wish I did,” said Velveteen Rabbit.
“I am the Fairy that takes care of toys that are well loved,” said the Fairy.

By then, Velveteen Rabbit was dirty and gray. Its brown spots, once bright, were now worn and hard to see.

“It is time for me to make you Real,” said the Fairy.

“I think I remember Real,” said Velveteen Rabbit. When you are Real, you can move when you want to move. If you are loved, you can love back.

With one touch of the Fairy’s wand, Velveteen Rabbit felt different. All of a sudden, each one of its legs could move!

“So this is being Real!” said Velveteen Rabbit. “I can move when I want to move!”

“I will show you some new friends,” said the Fairy. And the Fairy took Velveteen Rabbit where several rabbits hopped around. Soon they were all great friends.

Time went by. The Boy was back from the shore. He was all better now.

One day, the Boy went to the backyard to play. From the trees nearby, a few rabbits hopped out. One rabbit was brown all over, and another one was white. A third rabbit had brown spots. That one hopped close to the Boy.

The Boy thought, "Why, this rabbit looks just like my old Bunny that was lost when I was sick. I loved that Bunny!"

What he didn't know was that it was his very own Bunny, the Velveteen Rabbit, come back to see the boy. For he was why the Velveteen Rabbit had become Real.