16 Important Reasons Why the Tooth Fairy Didn't Come

Inside: 16 important reasons why the tooth fairy didn’t show up, again.

Little boy showing missing tooth via magnifying glass

A story of a little boy and a tooth fairy

I was sitting on the living room sofa, watching my kids play. My baby girl crawled on the floor around her brothers, who played with their cars. One of the boys gave me a book to read to him. After I finished reading it, another child of mine sat next to me and asked me a question that caught me off guard.

Is the tooth fairy real?

He had recently lost his tooth and found a dollar under his pillow. I thought about my answer. My little boy was 6 years old, could I burst his bubble with the truth? But I knew that since he asked the question, I didn’t want to tell him something that’s not true.

“You want to know the real truth?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, confidently.

“I’m your tooth fairy, sunny-boy,” I broke to him.

“So she’s not real?”

“No sweetheart, she’s not, but it’s okay to pretend that she is.”

Kids love imagining things, and this answer satisfied him. I expected more questioning, or maybe even an unhappy reaction to this sudden revelation of the truth, but he just said, “Ok,” jumped off the couch, and went on to play with his brothers.

When his 5-year-old brother lost his tooth, he was told the “real truth” about the tooth fairy by his older brother. My 5-year-old seemed okay with the fact that he could also pretend the tooth fairy is real, and happily tucked his little tooth under his pillow as he went to sleep that night.

But the tooth fairy didn’t come that night.

Or the next night.

Or the next.

I’m sure the reasons for her not showing up three days in a row were very legitimate.

On the third morning my little boy sighed as he pulled his tooth from under the pillow instead of the expected $1 bill. “She didn’t come.” He said looking up at me. “I have to remember tonight, I have to remember!” I thought to myself. He knew it was pretend play, and I knew he thoroughly enjoyed it, so I played along. “Maybe she’s on vacation. The tooth fairy needs a break too, you know.” “Oh, okay,” he answered, tucking the tooth back under his pillow. “I think I may have just bought myself few extra days,” I thought, patting myself on the back.

I didn’t forget that evening. I checked my purse for cash and found a $5 bill. “Looks like the tooth fairy is paying a late fee,” I thought. The bill was riddled with fold lines. A tooth fairy would never dare to put a bill in that condition under a little boy’s pillow, so I went to work. I turned on the iron and ironed out all the wrinkles. I then gave it a tooth fairy touch, which involved sparkle dust, perfume, and hairspray.

My little boy was ecstatic to find a sparkly, delightfully-smelling $5 bill under his pillow the next morning. He ran into my room, “I prayed for $5 and I got it, mama!” He grinned as he smelled the bill again. I had no idea I had a hand in granting his wish. God answers prayers. He works in mysterious ways.