How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others […] He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it. (4)
The oldest toy in the nursery is the only one that really understands its magic. Sure the fancy new-fangled toys might walk around bragging about their cool moving parts, but they don't have any clue about the enchantments all around them. They're not believers.
Quote #2
"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." (5-6)
The Rabbit is kind of confused about the whole Real business. He thinks that a toys that moves around with springs inside can claim to be "real," but the Skin Horse explains that being Real is something different all together. It's a magic that can only happen when a child loves you for a really long time.
Quote #3
"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.
"The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."
The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. (11-13)
So that's why the Skin Horse looks so beat up—he's a hand-me-down toy and he's Real. Apparently, it doesn't matter if your old owner grows up, as long as a child once loved you, you'll always be Real. That's a comforting thought.