Twas the month before Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring –
– unless you count the faintest sound of delicate wings fluttering through the air, down the hall, and under the door into my daughter’s room. The tiny sprite hovered over a stuffed Tooth Fairy Bear, which had gotten quite comfortable in a doll’s white wicker chair. His work had been sparse as of late, but the little girl with a mouth full of teeth finally called upon his service.
My daughter’s baby tooth, which had managed to evade being pushed out by its replacement, had snuggled tightly out of sight behind her new gleaming white grown-up tooth. I’d begun to worry that her dental fate would be that of a Yorkie puppy, with two complete sets of teeth, row behind row. Alas, the baby tooth had released its grip, the Tooth Fairy Bear was summoned from the back of the cluttered closet, and my plucky little girl set out on a mission. In her best handwriting, she carefully crafted a note to the Tooth Fairy. She wanted to know if the Tooth Fairy was real, and what she (or he) did with the collected teeth. She sealed up the letter and snuggled into bed – then visions of storybooks danced in her head.
Just as Santa’s gift selection, creation, and distribution habits differ from family to family, the same is true of the Tooth Fairy. For some children she leaves notes, for others, small presents, coins, or other tokens of great value. She knows our family well, and as a result, leaves behind carefully selected and signed books in exchange for outgrown teeth. In addition to inscribing Caroline’s new book, she noted a few of the most common fairy uses for children’s teeth.
Rather than satisfying her inquiring mind, the correspondence fueled the fire of Caroline’s curiosity. She spent the better part of the next morning using her very best penmanship to compose the following:
Dear Tooth Fary-
Are you small or larg?
What do you eat?
Wher do you live?
What do you do with your dust?
What are your magic pours?
Are you a boy or girl or wimon or man?
Do you have a randbow bridge?
What is your real name?
Do you have pets?
Do you have a house?
Love, Caroline
The following day, she awoke to find the following letter, penned on lilac fairy stationary, leaning against her Tooth Fairy Bear:
Dear Caroline,
Thank you for my note. Again, you’ve done a lovely job with your handwriting. You asked me several good questions. Sometimes in the Land of Fairies, we answer good questions by asking good questions back. For example: “Is Narnia real?” Let me know what you think, after you decide.
Someday, Caroline, you may grow too big for me. You’ll have your big girl teeth and you won’t think of me too often. But, you will never grow too big for Jesus. No matter how old you get, He will become more wonderful and more real to you as each year passes. You can never outgrow Him. Ever. If I fade, Jesus will become brighter to you. And if I become smaller, He will become larger. His adventures are exciting, His gifts are beautiful, and the friendship that you have with Him will last your whole life… even beyond. His is the best story of all, and I am happy for mine to help you to find it. In fact, that’s why I’m here, and why Santa and the Easter Bunny exist. Our job, you see, is a lot like the job of Mr. Beaver in Narnia—we point you to the King.
I can’t answer all of your very good questions, but I’m happy to answer a few. Indeed, I do love to eat fresh spiffiny drumkies, but not too many or it’s hard for me to fly. I live between Neverland and Middle Earth – third star to the right, slight curve to the left, then straight on til morning. I don’t have any pets, but there are many creatures which are my friends, like snicket jumpers (the little blue ones) and peffiny lumkets. But, they are too small and too fast for little girls to see.
Now, if you wouldn’t mind answering a question for me, I could also use some help. Someone once told me that little girls are made of sugar, and spice, and everything nice—and that little boys were made of snakes, and snails, and puppy dog tails. Is that for real?
Love, The Tooth Fairy
– – –
It should be noted that the above-mentioned letter looks suspiciously like the letter Santa had written to Rebecca Reynold’s daughter years ago. Although I was initially perplexed at this discovery, I eventually realized that of course Santa is far better with words than the Tooth Fairy. His work is quite seasonal, so he has ample time in which to read books and refine his writing. The Tooth Fairy, on the other hand, is in constant demand throughout the year. Given Santa’s generous nature, he gave his permission for the original letter to be tweaked accordingly. With that in mind, if you have any children (young or old) who doubt the reality of the Tooth Fairy, or Santa, or any of their friends, perhaps his letter can be of service to you.
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Love this!!!
Oh, this is splendid! Thank you, thank you!
Oh I love this. I teared up on the second paragraph of that letter. I think that the Tooth Fairy may need to bring that note to our house some day.