SCENE: Phil and Grandma on stage.
Phil: Grandma, when you read the story of the Velveteen
Rabbit to me last night, I was confused about what it was saying about being
"real." Am I real? When we were at the Pumpkin Festival some kids acted like I
was not real.
Grandma: What do you think being real means, Phil?
Phil: Does it mean having a mouth that moves and nice
clothes?
Grandma: "Real" isn't how you are made. It's a
thing that happens to you. When a child loves you, not just to play with, but REALLY loves
you, then you become real. Look at the children out there. Don't you believe they love
you?
Phil: Does it hurt to be real?
Grandma: Sometimes, when people do not love one another they
are what the Bible calls hypocrites, or actors. But when they really love and care about
each other they are no longer acting - they are REAL. But the Bible tells us that when we
love each other we will hurt when the other person is hurting. But we can also rejoice
when they are rejoicing.
Phil: Why should I be real if it hurts?
Grandma: When you are Real and care about someone you don't
mind hurting when they hurt.
Phil: Does is happen all at once, or bit by bit?
Grandma: It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes
a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp
edges, or who have to be carefully kept. 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.
Phil: I want to be real to the people here at church.
Grandma: I believe we are, Phil.
Phil: What was the name of that book, Grandma?
Grandma: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.
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