What does the tooth fairy do when a little boy sets a trap for her? Read on!
The tooth fairy peeked around the doorway, tip toeing into the little boy’s room, being careful not to make a sound, but when she made it to the bed, not only was there no tooth… there was no little boy!
Hmmm. She scratched her head and checked her notes. Yes, there was definitely a tooth lost in this house today. She tip-toed into the next room, and found the youngest little boy sleeping soundly. Nope, he was too young to lose a tooth.
Across the hallway, the sounds of snoring rattled behind a closed door. The tooth fairy carefully grasped the door handle and gently turned it, cringing as the door made a big “pop” sound. She held her breath, and closed her eyes, not that closing her eyes would keep a little boy from seeing her, but it settled her nerves.
The snoring continued. She tip toed in the room, smiling over the bed of the oldest child. No, he hadn’t lost a tooth either. A small rustle from the other side of room caught the tooth fairy’s attention. She crept around the bed and put her hands on her hips.
Aha! A little boy with a missing tooth!
The middle boy lay wedged in the two-foot space between the bed and the dresser. He slept soundly on a thick fluffy pillow, covered with a full Spiderman comforter. She could feel the tug of the prize tooth nestled below his sweet little head, but how would she get to the pillow?
The tooth fairy scratched her head, wishing she hadn’t left her wings at home. Is she had them, she could fly over the little boy to his pillow, and steal his tooth. But alas, wingless, she needed to find a way to thwart this little boy’s plan to catch her in the act, and still run away with that prized tooth.
She took in a deep breath, and balanced one hand on the bed, and the other on the dresser. Concentrating hard, she slipped her foot along the side of the frame, just beside the little boy.
OOPS! She jumped as she stepped on something hard. The little boy’s arm was under the comforter! Frozen, one hand supporting her on either side, and one foot hovering in the air, the tooth fairy watched as the little boy groaned, and rolled over.
Oh No! When he turned over, he bend his left his knee and pointed it in the air… just a few inches beneath her leg!
Balancing on one foot, she remained silent, waiting for his breathing to relax. Certain he’d fallen back into a blissful slumber; she allowed her foot to touch the ground in the few blessed inches of open carpet beside his shoulder. Using her fairy agility, she jumped over him, and crouched in the few inches of clear space by his pillow… a full grown fairy… in a six by twelve box. Well, she’d had worse challenges.
Her heart pumped madly, dreaming of the prized tooth she would find beneath his pillow. She slipped her hand under, only to find a long wire. A wire? The cable stretched from under the pillow to a nearby chair filled with toys. Yup. A booby trap… set up in the only possible place she would be able to slip her hand in.
Not to be thwarted, the tooth fairy contorted her body, twisting and mashing her large form in the little space provided, and slipped her other hand (upside down) beneath the pillow. Tapping and feeling, being careful of the wire … she struck gold. But was it gold? No! It was not the prized tooth… but a Nintento DS carefully hidden underneath his pillow.
Hmmmm, the tooth fairy thought. She would have to leave a note for his mother letting her know he’d been playing games when she thought he was sleeping.
Having come too far to give up without her prize, the tooth fairy dug her fingers around the rest of the carpeting. A marble, a toy soldier… Where was the stinking tooth!
Her hand touched plastic, and the wonderful sound of a Ziploc bag crinkling excited her ears. She slipped the bag out from beneath the pillowcase. The prize tooth! Slipping her free hand under the pillow, the tooth fairy deposited the required fistful of jingly coins and stood. Prize in hand.
But she could not yet celebrate her victory! Her eyes adjusted to the light, the moon revealing the true intricacy of the booby trap. How she hadn’t tripped it was a blessing in itself. The older boy turned in his bed, covering the one point on his mattress that she’d used to support herself.
Dangit for forgetting my stinking wings!
She gritted her teeth, and placed one toe on the pillow, shifting the fabric beside the child’s head. With a huge leap, she used her magical fairy powers to sail over the comforter and the booby traps, and landed solidly on the carpet at the edge of the bed.
THOMP. The flooring shook beneath her mass.
She froze.
A cricket chirped outside.
Both children reacted to the noise by turning in their sleep.
The tooth fairy waited, ever so patiently until they’d stopped moving. Whew! They remained asleep. Two steps took her from the room, and a now trembling hand eased the door shut.
Success.
The tooth fairy rubbed her temple, and smiled at her prize tooth.
I don’t get paid enough for this.
Writing time: 24 minutes. Fresh in my mind since it was last night. J
Yeah, I know there’s show verses tell and all. It’s speed storytelling, remember? Give a girl a break.
Marci leaned out the window, scanning the ships as they pulled into their dock stations. The Queen Majesty, double masts stretching into the clouds, swept past the docking vessels and moved out into the bay. Along the shoreline children ran, gold and red scarves flying over their heads. Laughter drifted up from the docks as people celebrated the huge vessel’s departure. The city’s long occupation had ended.
Jennifer M Eaton 