“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.”
A stuffed rabbit sewn from velveteen is given as a Christmas present to a small boy, but is neglected for toys of higher quality or function, which shun him in response. The rabbit is informed of magically becoming Real by the wisest and oldest toy in the nursery as a result of extreme adoration and love from children, and he is awed by this concept; however, his chances of achieving this wish are slight.
One night, after the boy has misplaced his cherished china dog, he is pacified through the presence of the rabbit, who attracts more attention from his owner from then onward as a result, to the extent of his promotion to the position of the child's favorite toy. However, when the toy rabbit's owner contracts scarlet fever, he is prescribed a trip to the seashore and is pacified upon receiving a stuffed rabbit of higher quality as a replacement for the Velveteen Rabbit, which must be burned alongside all of the other playthings due to potential bacteria. Before the rabbit can meet a painful demise, he is greeted by the Nursery Fairy, who transforms him into a living rabbit to spare him from an agonizing fate, as he'd acquired greater affection from the boy than all of the other toys and surpassed all qualifications required. The rabbit accompanies several others in rejoicing, gleeful upon having received his dream. A few months later, the boy is in the garden and sees a rabbit that reminds him of the velveteen one. Little does he know that it is his old rabbit, made real.