“Weeks passed
and the little Rabbit grew very old and shabby
but the Boy loved him just as much.
He loved him so hard
that he loved all his whiskers off
and the pink lining to his ears turned grey
and his brown spots faded.
He even began to lose his shape
and he scarcely looked like a rabbit any more
except to the Boy.
To him he was always beautiful
and that was all that the little Rabbit cared about.
He didn’t mind how he looked to other people
because the nursery magic had made him Real
and when you are Real
shabbiness doesn’t matter.”
Art by William Utermolen, an Artist with Alzheimer’s disease
