Tooth Fairy

Jimmy was still unsure of the tooth fairy. What benefit would a fairy get from the teeth of children? At least Jimmy would be getting something in trade for his first lost tooth. Well before bed, he had already began the litany of possibilities with his newfound bounty. Would the fairy leave a full dollar? What if he left five?

Jimmy placed the tooth in a small piece of tissue and tucked it under his pillow, for a moment he thought of the Princess and the Pea. He tried to feel it though the back of his hair, nothing. Safe and sound, awaiting its transformation from worthless cavity bait to meaningful capital. Jimmy hoped for another well-known fairy to arrive to arrive quickly, the Sleep Fairy. A minute nymph who sprinkles magical sleep dust in the eyes of children to send them to dreamland. This was how Jimmy’s parents explained the scaly gunk in his eyes as he awoke every morning.

Jimmy awoke with a bit of a neck-ache. His head was craned forward to make room for the pile of money in place of his recently passed tooth. He sat in shock before the piles of tightly wrapped hundred dollar bills spilling out from all sides of his pillow. It took all morning and his father’s calculator to count it all.  All totaled Jimmy had exactly one million dollars. I thousand packets of one hundred, one hundred dollar bills. Euphoria and glee flowed over Jimmy’s face as he climbed aboard the train to the world of toys, candy and breakfast cereal. Endless possibilities, for his unlimited money pile.

Jimmy came to the kitchen table in time for lunch with his family. He was carrying a small ziplock bag and a pair of his Father’s pliers. His Mother screamed when Jimmy sat down at the table and a trickle of blood was still flowing from his swollen mouth. His Father looked at the ziplock bag, it was filled with what looked like about a dozen small teeth, still bloody with bits of tissue attached.

Jimmy smiled a toothless smile and mumbled to everyone, We’re all gonna be rich!