Velveteen Rabbit Quotes from the Childhood Favorite

These Velveteen Rabbit quotes will remind you that to be loved or to truly love, you have to be willing to take chances and risk being hurt.

The Velveteen Rabbit is a British children’s book that was first published in 1922 and was written by Margery Williams.

It is a great children’s story about truly loving someone or something.

The Velveteen Rabbit is a simple toy that wants to be played with and also loved.

He learns that if you are loved enough as a toy you can become “real”. 

The Velveteen Rabbit earns his way into a little boy’s heart and becomes a favorite toy.

He even becomes “real” to the boy, even if he does not seem real to the outside world such as people or other rabbits. 

Don’t forget to also check out these uncertainty quotes about relationships and opportunities.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Explore our complete collection of motivational quotes here.

Velveteen Rabbit quotes about becoming real

1. “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you.” – Velveteen Rabbit

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2. “That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.” – Velveteen Rabbit

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3. “When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, But REALLY loves you, then you become Real.” – Velveteen Rabbit

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4. “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.” – Velveteen Rabbit

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5. “That was a great many years ago; But once you are real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.” – Velveteen Rabbit

6. “What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?” – Velveteen Rabbit

7. “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.” – Velveteen Rabbit

8. “And he found that he actually had hind legs! Instead of dingy velveteen he had brown fur, soft and shiny, his ears twitched by themselves, and his whiskers were so long that they brushed the grass. He gave one leap and the joy of using those hind legs was so great that he went springing about the turf on them, jumping sideways and whirling round as the others did.” – Velveteen Rabbit

9. “‘I am Real!’ said the little Rabbit. “I am Real! The Boy said so!” And He nearly began to cry.” – Velveteen Rabbit

10. “Of what use was it to be loved and lose one’s beauty and become Real if it all ended like this?” – Velveteen Rabbit

Velveteen Rabbit quotes about the Skin Horse

11. “For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.” – Velveteen Rabbit

12. “Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.” – Velveteen Rabbit

13. “It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time.” – Velveteen Rabbit

14. “The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces.” – Velveteen Rabbit

15. “Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.” – Velveteen Rabbit

16. “He was wise, for He had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and He knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else.” – Velveteen Rabbit

17. “The Boy’s Uncle made me Real,” He said. ‘That was a great many years ago; But once you are real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.’” – Velveteen Rabbit

18. “‘Does it hurt?’ asked the Rabbit. ‘Sometimes,’ said the Skin Horse, for He was always truthful.” – Velveteen Rabbit

19. “When you are real you don’t mind being hurt.” – Velveteen Rabbit

20. ‘Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,’ He asked, ‘or bit by bit?’” – Velveteen Rabbit

Just a Toy Velveteen Rabbit  Quotes

21. “The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn’t know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles.” – Velveteen Rabbit

22. “He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him.” – Velveteen Rabbit

23. “The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real.” – Velveteen Rabbit

24. “‘Wasn’t I Real before?’ asked the little Rabbit. ‘You were Real to the Boy,’ the Fairy said, ‘because he loved you.'” – Velveteen Rabbit

25. “Weeks passed, and the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby, but the Boy loved him just as much.” – Velveteen Rabbit

26. “He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that He could become it without these.” – Velveteen Rabbit

27. “What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?” – Velveteen Rabbit

28. “You must have your old Bunny!” she said. “Fancy all that fuss for a toy!” 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!” – Velveteen Rabbit

29. “Even began to lose his shape, and He scarcely looked like a Rabbit any more, except to the Boy.” – Velveteen Rabbit

30. “There 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.” – Velveteen Rabbit

Velveteen Rabbit quotes about being loved and loving

31. “Little Rabbit,” she said, “I take care of all the playthings that the children have loved.” – Velveteen Rabbit

32. “Does being real hurt?” the Rabbit asked. “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.” – Velveteen Rabbit

33. “One night, and for many nights after, the Rabbit was chosen to sleep with the Boy. The Rabbit was so happy that he never noticed his beautiful velveteen fur was getting shabbier, and his tail coming unsewn, and all the pink rubbed off his nose where the Boy had kissed him.” – Velveteen Rabbit

34. “One day the little Rabbit heard the Boy tell his Nanny that he was REAL. He was overcome by love in his heart.” – Velveteen Rabbit

35. “Over time the Rabbit grew older and despite how worn he became the Boy loved him even more.” – Velveteen Rabbit

36. “The boy loved him so much that his whiskers fell off and the pink lining to his ears turned grey.” – Velveteen Rabbit

37. “A mysterious flower began to grow where the Rabbit’s tear had fallen. It formed into a beautiful flower and blossomed and then opened. A fairy stepped out of it, came up to the Rabbit, and kissed him on his nose.” – Velveteen Rabbit 

38. “Wasn’t I Real before?” asked the little Rabbit. “You were Real to the Boy,” the Fairy said, “because he loved you. Now you shall be real to everyone.” – Velveteen Rabbit

39. “He took the Velveteen Rabbit with him, and before he wandered off to pick flowers, or play at brigands among the trees, he always made the Rabbit a little nest somewhere among the bracken, where he would be quite cozy, for he was a kind-hearted little boy and he liked Bunny to be comfortable.” – Velveteen Rabbit

40. “Now you shall be real to everyone.’” – Velveteen Rabbit

More Velveteen Rabbit quotes

41. “That?’ said the doctor. ‘Why, it’s a mass of scarlet fever germs!—Burn it at once. What? Nonsense! Get him a new one. He mustn’t have that any more!‘” – Velveteen Rabbit

42. “And so the little Rabbit was put into a sack with the old picture-books and a lot of rubbish, and carried out to the end of the garden behind the fowl-house.” – Velveteen Rabbit

43. “He gave one leap and the joy of using those hind legs was so great that he went springing about the turf on them, jumping sideways and whirling round as the others did, and he grew so excited that when at last he did stop to look for the Fairy she had gone.” – Velveteen Rabbit

44. “And about his little soft nose and his round black eyes there was something familiar so that the Boy thought to himself: ‘Why, he looks just like my old Bunny that was lost when I had scarlet fever!’ But he never knew that it really was his own.” – Velveteen Rabbit

45. “‘He doesn’t smell right!’ he exclaimed. ‘He isn’t a rabbit at all! He isn’t real!’” – Velveteen Rabbit

46. “For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten.” – Velveteen Rabbit

47. “‘I don’t feel like it,’ said the Rabbit, for he didn’t want to explain that he had no clockwork. ‘Ho!’ said the furry rabbit. ‘It’s as easy as anything,’ And he gave a big hop sideways and stood on his hind legs. ‘I don’t believe you can!’ he said.” – Velveteen Rabbit

48. ″‘I am the nursery magic Fairy,’ she said. ‘I take care of all the playthings that the children have loved. When they are old and worn out and the children don’t need them anymore, then I come and take them away with me and turn them into Real.’” – Velveteen Rabbit

49. “It was a long weary time, for the Boy was too ill to play, and the little Rabbit found it rather dull with nothing to do all day long. But He snuggled down patiently and looked forward to the time when the Boy should be well again, and they would go out in the garden amongst the flowers and the butterflies and play splendid games in the raspberry thicket like they used to. All sorts of delightful things He planned, and while the Boy lay half asleep He crept up close to the pillow and whispered them in his ear.” – Velveteen Rabbit

50. “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.” – Velveteen Rabbit

Which of these Velveteen Rabbit quotes is your favorite?

Now that you have learned more about the Velveteen Rabbit, I hope you choose to read the book and enjoy his complete journey to become real.

I think one of the things that we can all take away from this book is that to be loved or to truly love, to be “real” we have to be willing to take chances and risk being hurt.

The flipside of this is that you cannot truly experience the full enjoyment of life without being willing to go through hardships and get a little wear and tear on your body.

The lesson from the book ends with the rabbit accomplishing what he always wanted because he was willing to focus his love on that little boy.

Enjoy this classic book and hope you can share it with others.

So, which of these Velveteen Rabbit quotes and lines is your favorite?

Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.