The Velveteen Rabbit quotes
The lines readers remember from The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams.
13 quotes ยท About the book
Standout lines
He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen.
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HERE was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid.
He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen.
On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.
The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real.
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For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him.
The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real.
The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms.
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.
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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.
"
The Rabbit didn't mind it so much, for wherever he was thrown he came down soft.
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Sometimes she took no notice of the playthings lying about, and sometimes, for no reason whatever, she went swooping about like a great wind and hustled them away in cupboards. She called this "tidying up," and the playthings all hated it, especially the tin ones.
The Rabbit didn't mind it so much, for wherever he was thrown he came down soft.
One evening, when the Boy was going to bed, he couldn't find the china dog that always slept with him.
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.
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He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all that the little 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 then, one day, the Boy was ill.
He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded.
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Weeks passed, and 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 his brown spots faded.
He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all that the little Rabbit cared about.
All quotes
From the book
He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen.
Show the passage
HERE was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid.
He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen.
On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.
The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real.
Show the passage
For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him.
The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real.
The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms.
Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you.
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"
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."
When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.
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"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.
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"
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.
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.
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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.
"
The Rabbit didn't mind it so much, for wherever he was thrown he came down soft.
Show the passage
Sometimes she took no notice of the playthings lying about, and sometimes, for no reason whatever, she went swooping about like a great wind and hustled them away in cupboards. She called this "tidying up," and the playthings all hated it, especially the tin ones.
The Rabbit didn't mind it so much, for wherever he was thrown he came down soft.
One evening, when the Boy was going to bed, he couldn't find the china dog that always slept with him.
"Give me my Bunny!" he said. "You mustn't say that. He isn't a toy. He's REAL!"
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The Boy sat up in bed and stretched out his hands.
"Give me my Bunny!" he said. "You mustn't say that. He isn't a toy. He's REAL!"
When the little Rabbit heard that he was happy, for he knew that what the Skin Horse had said was true at last. The nursery magic had happened to him, and he was a toy no longer. He was Real.
That was a dreadful question, for the Velveteen Rabbit had no hind legs at all!
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"Can you hop on your hind legs?" asked the furry rabbit.
That was a dreadful question, for the Velveteen Rabbit had no hind legs at all!
The back of him was made all in one piece, like a pincushion. He sat still in the bracken, and hoped that the other rabbits wouldn't notice.
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.
Show the passage
He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all that the little 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 then, one day, the Boy was ill.
He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded.
Show the passage
Weeks passed, and 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 his brown spots faded.
He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all that the little Rabbit cared about.
Of what use was it to be loved and lose one's beauty and become Real if it all ended like this?
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the wonderful day when he first knew that he was Real. He thought of the Skin Horse, so wise and gentle, and all that he had told him.
Of what use was it to be loved and lose one's beauty and become Real if it all ended like this?
And a tear, a real tear, trickled down his little shabby velvet nose and fell to the ground.
You were Real to the Boy," the Fairy said, "because he loved you. Now you shall be Real to every one.
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"
You were Real to the Boy," the Fairy said, "because he loved you. Now you shall be Real to every one.
"
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