Ahhhh… There’s something sort of Velveteen Rabbittish about it, in its softness and gentle lesson about what it really means to be alive.  It tells the story of a stone lion outside a library who longs to be real and alive so that he could run in the park and swish his tail.  The wise gargoyle nearby tells him that sometimes stone animals are granted the opportunity to become real for a short time, “if they desire it greatly, with a generous heart.”  As it turns out, when the lion does get his chance to come to life, it is so that he can rescue the homeless girl and her baby brother, who have come to visit him so often, from a terrible snow-storm, by dragging them into the warmth of the library.  Though he never gets the chance to run and frolic, he builds relationships and shared memories that give him a better understanding for those who visit with him, making him feel alive even when he’s stone.