Sunday Inspiration: What is real?

what is real

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day…”

“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.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen 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.”

from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margary Williams

5 Comments

  1. Terry Guerra on February 5, 2023 at 6:53 am

    Oh, I haven’t seen this in a very long time. I love it! Have a great Sunday!

  2. Pat on February 5, 2023 at 8:00 am

    I needed to see this again. Thanks.

  3. Delores on February 5, 2023 at 9:48 am

    Been a long time since I read those words but still hold true!

  4. Kathy Kaczmarek on February 5, 2023 at 10:56 am

    My favorite book of wisdom… there are consequences that happen when you are loved and become REAL… you don;t mind the consequences because of the LOVE that is present.

  5. Cheri Stine on February 5, 2023 at 11:45 am

    Thank you for this sweet memory! One of the very first stories I remember listening to as my dad held me in his lap and read to me. The “real” meaning of this message has changed several times for me throughout my life but it remains one of my VERY favorite stories. Happy Sunday!

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