My Boy and The Velveteen Rabbit

And when the Boy dropped off to sleep, the Rabbit would snuggle down close under his little warm chin and dream, with the Boy's hands clasped close round him all night long.

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, written in 1922

I know this boy. He lives with me.
Does he live with you? Is your little boy a little girl?

If ever we doubt that the tenderness of children crosses time and boundaries, this child and this rabbit teach us otherwise. And the magic for us lies in the tenderness and purity of love which fill our hearts as we respond to innocence in our lives.

And once, when the Boy was called away suddenly to go to tea, the Rabbit was left out on the lawn until long after dusk, and Nana had to come and look for him with the candle because the Boy couldn't go to sleep unless he was there.

At 10, my Boy is still the Boy of the story. His Rabbit is a furless, treasured Dog. Sleep doesn't come if Nike is not snuggled under the chin as Boy holds Dog tight all night.

...he always made the Rabbit, a little nest somewhere among the bracken, where he would be quite cosy, for he was a kind-hearted little boy and he liked Bunny to be comfortable.

In the morning, my Boy puts Dog in his own little bed, in his own little house so he can rest during the day and be ready for the night.

He has given Dog a pillow to rest his head and his own velveteen companions. Dog has a place to dream until his Boy needs him again.

...the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby, but the boy loved him just as much. He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and the brown spots faded.....he scarcely looked like a rabbit anymore, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all the Rabbit cared about. He didn't mind how he looked to other people, because the nursery magic had made him Real, and when you are Real shabbiness doesn't matter.

And that is what I hope I teach my Boy.