This page contains solutions from the text The Velveteen Rabbit.
Answer the following questions from the text The Velveteen Rabbit
- Who was the oldest toy in the nursery? Why was he so wise?
The Skin Horse was the oldest toy in the nursery and had greater life experience than the other toys in the nursery and had seen a long succession of shiny mechanical toys come and then pass away after breaking their mainspring; he realised that outward shiny appearance does not make any toys real. His experiences make him wise.
2. How did a toy become ‘real’?
‘Real’ is nursery magic, something that happens to a toy and not how it is made. The Skin Horse wisely explained to the Velveteen Rabbit from his years of experience in the nursery. When a child truly loves a toy and does not simply consider it a casual plaything but rather develops an unconditional deep bond with it. “Through wear and tear”, bit by bit over the years, the toy finally transforms and becomes ‘real’.
3. The rabbit longed to become real, but what was he afraid of?
The rabbit wanted to become real, but the fear of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers made him afraid.
4. Who was Nana? What did she do?
Nana was the caretaker of the boy in the story ‘The Velveteen Rabbit‘. Nana kept the nursery in order. She looked after the boy. She often decided on which toys the boy would play with.
5. How did the rabbit end up with the boy?
The boy did not want to go to sleep without his favourite toy, ‘The China Dog’, one day. But Nana was too much in a hurry to look for it, so she simply swooped about the cupboard and found the velveteen rabbit. Her choice satisfied the boy, and that’s how the rabbit ended up with him.
6. ‘At first he found it rather uncomfortable.’ What did the rabbit find uncomfortable and why?
The Rabbit found it uncomfortable at first, for the child hugged him very tightly while sleeping. Sometimes he would roll over on top of him, and at other times he would push the rabbit so far under the pillow that the rabbit could hardly breathe. The rabbit also missed long moonlit-night talks with the Skin Horse in the nursery
7. ‘But very soon he grew to like it.’ What did the rabbit grow to like and why?
The rabbit was initially uncomfortable but gradually learnt to love the child’s company. The child would play with him, talk to him, even take him to spring picnics in the park and, most importantly, treat him like a real rabbit.
8. What happened in the garden when the boy was suddenly called away?
One day while playing in the lawn with the rabbit, the boy was suddenly called away. The rabbit was left all alone and was wet with dew and muddy from the day’s play with the boy. Quite later after dusk Nana came to look for him with a candle, for the boy refused to go to sleep without his dear bunny
9. “When the little rabbit heard that, he was happy.” What did the rabbit hear?
The boy forbade Nana to call his bunny an old toy. He considered the rabbit real. The rabbit heard him say these words. Finally the rabbit’s desire to become real came true. That’s why he was ecstatic.
