Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Tooth Fairy's on Vacation

Josiah recently lost his two front teeth. The first came out while he was eating a piece of toast. We washed it off and put it into his special tooth treasure chest and tucked it under his pillow for the tooth fairy to retrieve. I had a sign language class that evening and by the time I came home the kids were in bed and I had completely forgotten about Josiah's tooth.

I was in Josiah's room when he woke up the next day. He squinted at me and asked, "Is it morning?"

"Yep, it's morning. You can get up if you want to."

Josiah brought his hand out from under his pillow. He was holding the treasure box with the tooth still inside, "Why is my tooth still here?"

Thinking quickly I said, "Oh! I mean, it's still night. Go back to sleep!" Once his eyes were closed I rushed into my bedroom and rooted around my dresser for a quarter. I found one and sprinted back to his room where I tucked it under his pillow while retrieving the tooth. Phew!

"Um, mom? That was you, not the tooth fairy."

"I know. The tooth fairy is on vacation and asked me to take care of things, but I forgot. I'm sorry."

Josiah looked at me askance, but didn't make further comment.

That weekend his other front tooth came out while he was playing with friends at church. He ran over to me and showed me that his tooth had come out. I washed it off and put it in my purse for safe keeping. Josiah then went to the sanctuary where he walked up and down the middle aisle, smiling as largley as possible to show off his missing teeth until I realized what he was doing and had him sit down (church was about to start).

After church he continued to show off his missing teeth. A couple of people asked if he was going to put his tooth under his pillow for the tooth fairy. Josiah responded flatly, "It's just my mom, not the tooth fairy."

Oh well. I guess he to find out eventually.

3 comments:

Sheri Ann said...

Bummer! Oh, well, he probably still secretly believes in her! ;-)

As the author of a picture book about a very big-attitude tooth fairy with high-tech gadgets, one of the questions I get from school kids when I do school visits is: "Is the tooth fairy real?"

One little girl went so far as to say, "Is the tooth fairy real? Please, please tell me pretty please with a cherry on top!"

Calling her up to stand with me in front of 300 kids ranging from Kindergarten to fourth grade, I looked at her and said, "Yes, the tooth fairy is real. But like all fairies, she simply disappears when YOU stop believing in her."

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I could never tell a kid otherwise -- because I still believe in the tooth fairy myself! ;-)

Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt
Author, You Think It's Easy Being the Tooth Fairy?
12,000 copies sold!
www.4kids.Bell-Rehwoldt.com

Ellen said...

Hi Sheri,

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. We'll be sure to look for your book at the library!

Sheri Ann said...

Thanks, Ellen!

If they don't have it, ask them to order it!

You can tell the librarian that Kirkus Reviews said this about it:

"Bell-Rehwoldt's spunky spitfire of a redheaded tooth fairy defies historical conceptions. ... Having been stripped of her dainty, gentle, winged ways, this may not be the tooth fairy for every child. However, others will surely vigorously embrace her gusto." Kirkus Reviews, 9/1/07

Hee hee!

Sheri