The Velveteen Rabbit

Or How Toys Become Real

By Margery Williams

 Illustrations by William Nicholson

 Originally published in 1922

Once upon a time, my Mother made me a cute little bright pink rabbit out of corduroy.  It was my own little velveteen rabbit.  I remember a homemade felt carrot and cabbage for the rabbit to eat.  The fate of these toys is unknown to me now, but I still have my childhood copy of The Velveteen Rabbit.  

This magical story contains lessons important for all ages, but my favorite lesson is one that the old Skin Horse gives to the brand new Velveteen Rabbit.

“When you are Real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Our outside appearances just don’t matter much.  It’s what is inside that counts.  This is a lesson I need to keep in mind when the way a person dresses, accessorizes, or wears their hair impels me to judge them too quickly.  

Take a lesson from the Skin Horse.  It doesn’t matter if your joints are loose and your hair has been rubbed off when the reason for your physical condition is a life of loving and being loved. 

Under Adrian's Bed

By Marilyn Claus

  

Amy and Adrian on top of bed with animals that eventually ended up underneath.

The following is not a book from my childhood, but a poem, written by my Mother when I was about 10 years old.  Here, in a longer post than usual, I’ve copied not only the poem, but also the essay I wrote on the same topic when I was in high school.

UNDER ADRIAN’S BED

There are catalogs,

Games and dirty socks,

Shells and books

And even rocks.

Candy wrappers,

Homework, lost?

Underwear,

Carelessly tossed.

Cookie crumbs,

A long lost mitten.

Naked doll and

Small stuffed kitten.

Vacuum cleaner,

Please look out when

Probing with your eager snout…

Under Adrian’s bed!

This poem, written by my mother about seven years ago, describes the former conditions of the nether regions of my bed.  Walking into my bedroom at the time the poem was written, one would see an average little girl’s room, kept fairly neat.  Only one characteristic gave the room a different look.  Odds and ends of various stuffed animals, books and clothing protruded from underneath the bed.  A faint cloud of dust would rise as a person sat down on my bed.

Over the years, I began to refrain from stowing things under my bed.  One reason may be the teasing I received.  If I asked my sister where Mom is, she’d tell me to look under my bed.  If some silverware was lost, she’d say that it’s probably under my bed.  Also, although I knew at all times what was under the bed, I went through great difficulty retrieving what I needed.  Whatever it was that I wanted would usually be located in the middle of the mess, and I’d have to drag everything else out to get at it.  If I lifted the edge of the quilt to look under the bed, the dust would overwhelm me, sending me off into a coughing fit.  Therefore, I had to come up for fresh air every few seconds.

One incident that encouraged me to change my messy ways stands out in my memory.  It was a Sunday night when I lay awake in bed, dreading going to school the next day.  As I was drifting off to sleep, I heard a rustling sound coming from under my bed.  My heart began to beat wildly and I froze in terror.  I thought of what I had tucked under there that could be alive.  I remembered a few dirty dishes that had been under there for several days, and thought perhaps a small animal could have cultivated in them.  The rustling grew louder, and soon the bed began to shake.  I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer so I leaped from under the covers, dashed to the door, and flipped on the light.  As I stood in the doorway, the rustling grew even more intense.  Getting a sudden burst of courage, I walked carefully back to my bed and flipped the covers up.  Sitting beneath was the family dachshund, obviously disturbed at my intrusion on her privacy.  I breathed a sigh of relief, and vowed right there to clean up my act and remove all junk from beneath the bed.

Now, years later, although the teasing has died down some, I am still reminded of the former conditions beneath my bed.

“Who has the car?” someone asks.

My sister jokingly replies, “Look under Adrian’s bed.”

I reply, all too seriously, “It’s probably in my closet”.

                                   

 Adrian Claus, age 17

The House at Pooh Corner

By A.A. Milne

Copyright 1928

12^th Dell printing April 1974

Laura's Pooh collection

Within the pages of this book is a lesson from Pooh and a lesson from very young children everywhere. 

Sometimes you just have to let yourself be.   

Piglet questioned the use of the word “shillings” in one of the poems from Pooh’s stuffing filled head. 

“They wanted to come in after the pounds,” explained Pooh, “so I let them.  It is the best way to write poetry, letting things come.”

It is the best way to write poetry and the best way to unwind.  

You don’t always have to be doing something productive. 

Set aside your to-do list.

Find a Thoughtful Spot to sit and just think.

Wish your friends a very happy Thursday – just because.

Drop sticks off one side of the bridge and see which comes out the other side first.  

Enjoy a bit of honey, and then go visit a friend. 

And then enjoy another bit of honey with your friend.

 

Below Stairs, Part 2

The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey

By Margaret Powell

First published in Great Britain in 1968. 

I had so much to write about this book, I couldn’t fit it all in to the previous post, so here is Part 2 of my thoughts on Below Stairs.  See the original post on this book here.

Margaret Powell had to leave behind her desire to teach when she was forced to begin earning a living at age 14.  She didn’t, however, lose her desire to read and learn. 

 

One time, she was in a particularly pleasant temporary position as a cook.  She was surprised to hear the employers call their servants by their Christian names.  The servants hall was decorated comfortably, not just with cast-offs.  Lady Downhall would come down to the kitchen and kindly ask Margaret if she had suggestions for menus.  Margaret even felt so comfortable there that she once asked Lady Downhall if she could borrow a book from her personal library. After looking surprised, Lady Downhall replied,

“’Yes, of course, certainly you can, Margaret,’ adding, ‘but I didn’t know 

you read.’ They knew that you breathed and you slept and you worked,

 but they didn’t know that you read. 

 Such a thing was beyond comprehension.”

Eventually, Margaret married, left domestic service, and had three sons.  The family always struggled financially.  She, however, was determined that her boys remain in school.  When they began to learn about things she couldn’t discuss with them, she became determined to learn on her own.  She was told about a series of inexpensive lectures on history, and attended all twenty-four of them.   

This was just the beginning.  After passing all her “O” levels at the age of fifty-eight, her education continued on.

I’m inspired by her words, “The seeds are in you and although it may take ten, twenty, or forty years, eventually you can do what you wanted to at the beginning.”

It’s never too late to learn about or try something that interests you. The seeds that were in you years ago may just need a little water and sunshine to grow!

The Daughter at School

By Rev. John Todd, D.D.

Copyright 1857

One hundred and fifty-five years ago, parents were preparing to send their children off to college, worrying, like parents of today, how constructive they will be with their time, how respectful of themselves and others, and whether their child is ready to leave the safety and comfort of home.  

At home our children may be “screened from the cold world and its vices”, yet obviously they can’t remain children forever.  

Reverend Todd gives many pieces of advice to the young woman preparing to go away to school.  Much of this advice would be wise to give today.  College is a time to “shake off old habits and form new ones”.  Remain diligent in your studies.  Learn something new each day.  Be friendly toward others.  Read your Bible.

I found one piece of wisdom that I know my daughter will not follow while she’s away at school. 

“Here let me advise you, in health you should never indulge in a day-time nap.  If you find by persisting in early rising you are not well rested, that your strength is gone before the day goes, retire earlier and earlier, till you find you have sufficient sleep.”

Would any modern college student follow this counsel?  None that I know would!

The author writes a thought provoking phrase.  In all our years spent caring for and instructing a daughter at home what we are actually doing is “training an angel for eternity”.  I, for one, am so pleased to know the “angels” my daughters are becoming as they are leaving home!