Favorite Childhood Story

When I was a little girl my favorite story to read was The Velveteen Rabbit. I loved the concept that you could be loved, no matter who you were or what you looked like. As I got older that concept remained close to my heart, along with the concept that less is more. The Rabbit in the story did not have all the gadgets and buzzing parts that other toys do, but he was loved anyway, despite his simple appearance. My favorite part of the story is when the Rabbit and the Skin Horse are talking in the library:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-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 you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become 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."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often 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."

I hope that when I am older, my knees and back will be sore from lifting children and grandchildren and holding them on my lap. I hope my face with be wrinkled with laugh lines, permanent memories of happy times etched on my face. If I lose my hearing, I hope it is because it was worn out from listening to the laughter of children. If I lose my eyesight, I hope I will still be able to see into their hearts and souls. Most of all, I hope that my children will still find me as beautiful as the love that I hold for them.

So, I want to hear other mama's favorite childhood stories and how they relate to their present lives. I tag Mama K NJ, My Fabulous Self, and Stephanie. Anyone else who wants to participate, please leave your links/and or comments so I can read up on your favorite childhood story :o)

Favorite Childhood Story