The Tooth Fairy’s Dilemma (a story about my daughter Aria and her tooth)
Art done by my student
The tale began with a small yet monumental event in Aria’s life. At nine years old she’s lost another baby tooth, an occurrence that signaled another visit from the magical tooth fairy. With excitement, Aria carefully hid the tiny tooth under her pillow, anticipating the fairy's exchange.
But even fairies have their off days. This particular night, the tooth fairy found herself in a bit of a dilemma. She had forgotten to break a $5 bill. You see, in the fairy world, $5 bills were reserved for the more significant molars, while smaller teeth earned $3. Determined to fulfill her duties, the tooth fairy searched high and low but couldn’t find Aria’s hidden tooth. Reluctantly, she left a crisp $5 bill beneath the pillow, hoping it would suffice.
The next morning, Aria woke to find the unexpected $5 bill but was puzzled as she saw that her tooth was also there on the floor on the side of the bed. She didn’t think much of it and went on with her day, and before going to sleep that night she made sure the tooth was safely tucked away once more.
Night fell and morning arrived and Aria still had the tooth. She finally approached her mom and said "Mom, I found my tooth yesterday morning," she announced. Mom wide eyed asked “Why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?” and with some quick thinking suggested, "Oh no! Maybe the tooth fairy still needs it. Why don’t we leave it under your pillow again so she can come back and collect it since she already paid for it?"
Aria’s face , with suspicious written all over it said "Yeah, I did leave it under my pillow again last night, and she didn't come to get it. I guess she doesn't need the tooth that bad."
It was then that mom realized that her little girl was on to the tooth fairy. The only conclusion that mom could come up with was to tell Aria “I’ll take care of it, I’ll mail it to the tooth fairy. That way she knows you’re honest and she won’t forget you when your next tooth falls out”.
