Real

Real isn't how you are made,

it's a thing that happens to you.

It doesn't happen at all once.

You become.

...

It takes a long time.

That's why it doesn't happen often

to those 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.

-The Velveteen Rabbit