Is There a Recession In Fairyland?

Third Grader lost a molar over the weekend. She concerns herself a great deal with making the right impression, so the tooth had to soak in a cup for two days before it was worthy of presentation to the Tooth Fairy. This ritual of hers causes me a mild amount of anxiety - so far, she has always made me aware of when the tooth finally passes inspection and can be placed in the tooth pillow which is then placed under her own pillow. She's a bit of a pillow freak, that one. It's rather important for me to witness under WHICH pillow it goes, or else we might face disasters unknown in the wee hours of the night.

So under a pillow it went, and we all went to bed. The Tooth Fairy did not make her appearance until 5 a.m. this morning, having fallen asleep in her book the night before and accidentally forgetting her duties. Oops. She tiptoed downstairs to get her purse. It seems, however, that the Tooth Fairy had only enough cash on hand to give to Fifth Grader for snowboarding snacks and dinner later that day. So she very quietly rummaged through the box of loose change she keeps around and came up with eight quarters. In case you didn't know, two dollars is the minimum going price for a 2009 molar. She taped the quarters together in a little bundle and tiptoed back upstairs.

Having witnessed the placement of the tooth the night before, the Tooth Fairy found it relatively easy to retrieve for the swap. She also found a note. Startled, she carried the tooth pillow and note into the bathroom to read it. It read:

"Dear Tooth Fairy,

Instead of money this time, what I would really like is the 500 pack of Bend a Roos. You don't have to. Love, Third Grader.

p.s. If you could leave me the Bend a Roos, it would be a dream come true."

This created a quandary for the Tooth Fairy. She does not like to disappoint. She considered the situation. First of all, she didn't happen to have a 500 pack of Bend a Roos lying around. Also, she really didn't want to end up on the front page of the Fairyland Times for providing exorbitant gifts during a difficult time. (Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and Cupid is already in a panic.) So, she found a pen and wrote a reply in her very worst cursive on the back of the note:

"I am sorry, I have only money to give. Perhaps this is enough for you to buy your dream come true."

She totally knew the eight quarters were not enough, but that's how it goes. She slipped the quarters in the pillow and slid everything back under Third Grader's sleeping head.

******

Third Grader awoke and was not at all disappointed. In fact, she loves to buy things for herself and has been stockpiling Christmas and birthday money for quite some time. Before school, she placed a pencil and paper on the coffee table. Her mission tonight, she announced, is to write down the phone number from the Bend a Roos commercial.