One of my favorites,
The story of a Velveteen Rabbit, a sawdust-stuffed toy, that was a Christmas present to a little boy. The boy played with him for at least two hours, and then when new presents came, the velveteen rabbit was forgotten. And because of this, he felt insignificant and commonplace. He never new what it means to be a real rabbit because he haven’t seen one. He then met Skin Horse, the oldest toy in the house. He wanted to know what and how to be REAL.
(quoted my favorite part)
“What is REAL?”, asked the Rabbit one day. “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.”
“Does it hurt?”, asked the Rabbit.
“When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”, the Skin Horse.
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That is 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 you 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.”“Once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”
He didn’t understand at first. But then one day the boy played with him again. He was made real by the love of the boy. For the boy, he is a Real Rabbit. And that made him very happy. Weeks passed, and the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby, but the Boy loved him as much. When you are Real, shabbiness doesn’t matter at all.
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Lea : Being real is being loved unconditionally, not for what you are, but because of WHO you really are, inside out. I didn't have much toys when i was young. I find it amazingly funny, if only toys can talk. What about humans? We and the people around us... need to be REAL too.
