有声英语儿童童话故事 绒布兔子 第3章

The Skin Horse had lived longerin the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat wasbald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in histail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seena long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-bybreak their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys,and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange andwonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced likethe Skin Horse understand all about it.

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbitone day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nanacame to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and astick-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 youfor a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then youbecome Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse,for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”