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(Picture courtesy: Google images)
When Elena's first milk tooth fell out, her parents were proud of their 'big' girl.
Elena hid the pearl-like precious tooth under her pillow at night and waited for the tooth fairy.
The next morning she found some money under her pillow. The tooth fairy must have visited late at night because Elena did not see or hear her.
A month later, one of Elena's tooth became so wobbly that she couldn't eat properly. At school, Miss Hanneke yanked it out and gave it to Elena in a tissue paper. Elena placed it under her pillow and found some money the next morning.
She felt very rich.
The third wobbly tooth didn't fall out or got yanked out.
Elena swallowed it!
Oh dear! Although she had lost her tooth, Elena couldn't keep it under the pillow for the tooth fairy. Oh, what was she to do!
Elena's mum came up with an idea that she had read about in a 'Charlie and Lola' book. She told Elena to go to sleep with a wide smile. Then, when the tooth fairy hovered above Elena at night, she would notice her 'gappy' smile. This idea did work. The tooth fairy left some money under her pillow that night.
Well, and the same story continued till Elena turned ten.
Just before Elena turned ten, she heard someone on the playground say that tooth fairies are not real. She found this hard to believe so she decided to test the tooth fairy.
On her tenth birthday, one of Elena's tooth fell out. This time she did not announce it to anyone. She quietly hid it under her pillow at night and tried not to go to sleep.
The tooth fairy did not visit that night.
No fairy, no money.
Elena was disappointed.
"Did you know that Elena's tooth fell out yesterday?" blurted out Elena's best friend, Daisy, as she entered Elena's house the next day for a play date.
"Really?" said Elena's parents.
"Yes, and she didn't tell anybody. She wanted to see whether the tooth fairy is real" said Daisy while Elena tried to 'shush' her.
That night, Elena asked her parents, "Do you think tooth fairies are real?"
Dad said, "If you believe in them, they are real."
"Then why didn't the tooth fairy visit me yesterday?"
Mum said, "That is because you tried to test her."
Dad said, "And I doubt if she will come to visit you anymore."
Christmas was around the corner.
Elena wrote a letter to Santa and gave it to her Mum.
"Mum, do you think Santa will visit me?"
"Yes, my love, if you believe in him, surely he will" answered Mum as she cuddled her little girl who was soon growing up.
