Strange people came and went in the nursery, and a light burned all
night and through it all the little Velveteen Rabbit lay there, hidden
from sight under the bedclothes, and he never stirred, for he was
afraid that if they found him some one might take him away, and he
knew that the Boy needed him.

It was a long weary time, for the Boy was too ill to play, and the
little Rabbit found it rather dull with nothing to do all day long.
But he snuggled down patiently, and looked forward to the time when
the Boy should be well again, and they would go out in the garden
amongst the flowers and the butterflies and play splendid games in the
raspberry thicket like they used to. All sorts of delightful things he
planned, and while the Boy lay half asleep he crept up close to the
pillow and whispered them in his ear. And presently the fever turned,
and the Boy got better. He was able to sit up in bed and look at
picture-books, while the little Rabbit cuddled close at his side. And
one day, they let him get up and dress.

It was a bright, sunny morning, and the windows stood wide open. They
had carried the Boy out on to the balcony, wrapped in a shawl, and the
little Rabbit lay tangled up among the bedclothes, thinking.

The Boy was going to the seaside to-morrow. Everything was arranged,
and now it only remained to carry out the doctor's orders. They talked
about it all, while the little Rabbit lay under the bedclothes, with
just his head peeping out, and listened. The room was to be
disinfected, and all the books and toys that the Boy had played with
in bed must be burnt.

"Hurrah!" thought the little Rabbit. "To-morrow we shall go to the