By Lisa Suhay

 It was a cold morning and when Ian woke his teeth chattered. As he got out of bed he noticed that the big top one in the front, on the right, chattered just a little bit more than the others. In fact, it was swinging back and forth like a flag in the wind.

 "Mom!" he called as he peered into the bathroom mirror. "Mom, my tooth is coming out!"

 His mother came in and knelt down in front of him. "Open up the hanger and lets see if its ready to fly," she said.

 Ian opened his mouth and his mother looked carefully. "Yup. That ones on its way to the Tooth Fairy for sure."

 Once, this news would have excited Ian, now he just yawned. "Big deal," he said.

 His mother was shocked. "Big deal? Big deal? Arent you excited," she asked.

 "Nah," he said and turned to go back to his room and dress for the day.

 As soon as Ian said "Nah." An alarm bell began to sound at Tooth Castle Central Command Headquarters on Cloud 9 ½. Shiny, sparkling red and green lights flashed and the Tooth Fairy, exhausted from another long night of flying around the world, fell out of her gossamer bed with a THUMP!

"What? What was that," she cried. One of her many helper fairies came skittering in on shaking wings. The castle was shaking as well. Teeth were falling out of the walls and crashing down all around them.

"It's a full-blown Code Pink Im afraid," squealed the little blue fairy who had buzzed in.

 The Tooth Fairy was shocked. "Another one? So soon? Oh this is becoming a problem."

 They both rushed over to a shiny blue screen on the wall and the big TF waived her sparkly hands until the screen became like a television set tuned right in to Ians house. The fairies watched and listened to the events as if their lives depended on it.

 "But the Tooth Fairy will bring you a dollar," Ian's mother reminded him. "Won't that be great?"

 Ian shook his head, no. The Tooth Fairy frowned and the little blue fairy by her side gasped, "Oh dear!" The castle rocked harder.

"But I thought you loved the dollar bills the Tooth Fairy brings," his mother said. "You were saving them up in your bank to buy something special."

 Ian wiggled his tooth with his fingers. He went to the shelf and got his bank and opened it and dumped the contents out on the bed.

"It's all just money," he said. "I can earn a dollar taking out the trash or being good at math or doing my chores. Whats the difference? I mean, Its nice, but you cant tell one dollar from another. Look."

 Ian's mother looked. Back at Tooth Castle Central Command Headquarters on Cloud 9 ½ so did the Tooth Fairy and her assistant. The castle was shaking mightily and a rather large bicuspid toppled from the ceiling and plunged into the floor just a few feet from the TF.

"Yeek! That was too close for comfort," her assistant squeaked and huddled close to the Tooth Fairy for protection. When something shakes a childs faith in fairies it rocks the fairy world.

 But the Tooth Fairy didnt even seem to notice what was happening around her. She was busy muttering to herself and staring at the screen where Ian had eaten breakfast and lost his tooth in a bite of apple.

 As his tooth left his mouth a little bell rang and a giant map appeared on the floor beneath their feet with a bright pink dot glowing to mark Ians house. Well, actually it didnt just mark the house, it marked the tooth. Wherever the tooth moved so did the pink dot. The TTD (Tooth Tracking Device) had immediately magicked into the tooth as soon as it came out.

 Now all she had to do was wait until Ian was asleep and and hmmmm. This was going to be a problem.

 The Tooth Fairy had been hearing an awful lot lately about how giving loose change, or even a crisp dollar bill was dull. While teeth and the fact that they fell out stayed the same, the world was always changing and so were the children in it.

 The Tooth Fairy made a decision. "Saddle up! Were outta here. Weve got a mission," she announced. Her voice, magically magnified carried throughout Tooth Castle Central Command Headquarters on Cloud 9 ½.

 As she marched through the castle on her way to the great hall the Tooth Fairy gave orders: "Blue Fairies are on castle repair. I want these teeth braced to keep any more from popping out before this crisis is solved."

"Everyone else will head out now to begin looking for some form of currency that is more exciting than what weve been giving out. I want you to go to every bank and every mint where money is created on the planet. Green Fairies head to Ireland, Yellows to England, Pinks to Eastern Europe, Blue to all the cold places. I'll take Silver and Gold are with me to search America."

 And off they flew, like swarms of shiny, fluorescent dragonflies.

 The Tooth Fairy knew the money makers of the world like the back of her hand and her very favorite was located in America, in the bustling City of Philadelphia at the United States Mint.

 She buzzed right past the security guard and all the cameras leaving a pink streak in her wake. She knew just where to go. She buzzed to the gift shop to check out the change drawer. But to her disappointment all she saw were the usual green dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies and one Susan B. Anthony coin. Shed given those before. Sheds given them all before.

"Drat," she whispered. She checked her wand, which was covered with different colored jewels. One by one she would press a color and talk into the wand. "Green Team any luck in Ireland? Pink Team? Blue? Anything new?"

 But one after another the fairies all reported the same thing "Sorry TF but there's just nothing really special enough."

 "Oh great," the Tooth Fairy exclaimed. "This is a real disaster."

 Then she got a gleam in her sparkly eye. "Mae! She'll know."

 Off she shot like a streak of pink lightning flying through the mint from room to room until she finally spotted an old woman with dark creamy brown skin, curly white, pink and black hair, wearing a shocking pink sweatshirt over a long blue denim skirt. She was pushing a cart that had piles of mail in trays.

"Mae," she whispered and the old woman jumped with surprise sending mail in all directions. The tooth Fairy waived her wand and it all flew back into place. Ooops, sorry, she said.

"Oh-oh, if you are here scaring the mail out of my trays then it must be an emergency," Mae said looking at the frazzled fairy.

"Well yes, actually, Mae," she said. "Full-blown Code Pink. A bad one."

 "Whoa. Why?" Mae asked.

"Children are bored with the dollars and coins I leave, even when I dust them with fairy glamour its just not up to snuff," she said.

"Humph! Mae grunted. In my day a quarter was a thrill. But now they got the television and computer and all those fancy-dancy lights and gizmos."

 The Tooth Fairy was looking desperate.

 "Mae, isn't there anything?" she pleaded.

"Well, there is, but theres a problem," she said. Reaching into her cart she took out a little sparkly change purse. She jingled around it until finally she pulled out a coin that left the Tooth Fairy breathless with joy.

 It was a Golden Dollar coin. On it was a beautiful woman with a baby resting in a little sack on her back. The woman and child fit together perfectly and they had the faces of angels. One look and the Tooth Fairy was in love with them and the coin.

 Mae explained: "This is the one and only American Golden Dollar. On the front is Native American Sacagawea. On her back, Sacagawea carries her baby son, Jean Baptiste. She was six months pregnant when she joined the Lewis and Clark expedition as their guide.  Sacagawea gave birth to Jean Baptiste early in the journey. Without her expert guidance and knowledge the expedition would have failed."

"On the back of the coin is a soaring eagle," Mae added.

 The Tooth Fairy was thrilled. "Perfect! Perfect! Ill take a billion!"

 "Can't have 'em," Mae said. "The mint's gonna stop making them. They think people dont want them."

 A shocking pink light burst from the Tooth Fairy who was ready to explode with aggravation. "No!" she shouted.

"Shhh, be still now," Mae said. "This is America after all. Things are always changing around. Maybe if you go to the Director of the mint he'll change his mind."

 The Tooth Fairy calmed down. She asked the name of the Director of the Mint and learned  he lived in Washington, D.C. Checking her records she found that while his children were all grown, he had a granddaughter named Kaitlyn who had just lost a tooth recently and had another due out any moment.

 She concentrated very hard on Kaitlyns wiggly tooth. Yes, yes she felt her wand hum and a little pink light appeared. She held it up and a map of Washington, D.C. was projected on the floor with a tiny moving pink dot for Kaitlyns tooth.

"I think Ive got it Mae, but Ill need that coin of yours and one more if youve got it. I promise to replace them both," she said.

 Mae laughed, "What are you gonna trade me for the coins - teeth? Go on, get a move on!"

"See you soon. Thanks!" The fairy said.

 PIFT! She was gone in a shower of golden dust.

 She reappeared in Washington, D.C. where she whispered in the Directors ear, "Wouldn't it be nice to visit Kaitlyn tomorrow on the way to the office? Imagine the look on that little face when Grandpa pays a surprise call?"

 The she blinked away and off to the bedroom of little Kaitlyn where she waited patiently for her to arrive and place her tooth under the pillow.

 Night fell and the little girl was asleep. The fairy took the tooth and left the Golden Dollar in its place. In large pink glittery letters she wrote on the headboard, "Show Grandpa! Love, The Tooth Fairy."

 When Kaitlyn woke in the morning she reached under her pillow and closed her hand around the smooth new coin. When she pulled it out she rubbed her eyes and began to bounce up and down on her bed with joy.

 Then she looked up and saw the message. As soon as she read it the letters disappeared.

"Mom! Dad! Look what I got," she yelled racing into the kitchen where her mother and father sat having breakfast. "Mom I need Pop-pop. I need my Grandpa right now! I have to show him right away!"

 Her parents looked at each other, then at the coin, and at Kaitlin's shining face. Her mother whispered to her father and he shook his head. "I didn't do it," he whispered. Her mother said, "I didn't even know it came out!"

 "Where did that come from honey," her mother asked pointing to the coin.

"The Tooth Fairy," Kaitlyn gasped.

" But you dont believe in the Tooth Fairy anymore," her father said. "You said she was boring, remember?"

 There was a knock at the front door.

"Forget that, she rules!" Kaitlyn shrieked. "I need Pop-pop. Can we go see him right now."

 A big voice from behind her called, "Here I am. I was on my way to the Mint and just had to stop and see you."

 Kaitlyn and her parents were all looking pretty shocked .

"She did it," Kailyn said. "The Tooth Fairy made you come. Look what she left me. She said to show you. She wrote it on my bed!"

 Kaitlyn held out the coin in her trembling hand and her Grandfather took it and looked at it. "Isn't it awesome Pop-pop? I wonder if everyone gets these now. It must be new and she gave me the very first one. I cant wait to lose another tooth! I cant wait to get to school and show everybody!"

 The Director of Mint looked at Kaitlyn's parents and smiled a sparkly smile. "Now theres an idea, he mumbled to himself."

 Then he bent down and asked Kaitlyn, "I wonder how one would contact the Tooth Fairy?"

 "I guess you could put a note under my pillow and see if shell take it," the little girl said.

 And so it was that the Director himself wrote up a note on his official stationary formally requesting that the Tooth Fairy come to the Mint and meet with him about using Golden Dollars as her rewards.

 She agreed happily, but only on two conditions; that the mint in Philadelphia keep making the coins for all to use, and that Mae get an electric cart with a chair to ride in when she delivered the mail.

 Back in Tooth Castle Central Command Headquarters on Cloud 9 ½ the little blue fairy and the TF both sighed with relief as they tuned in the big screen to watch as Ian pulled the Golden Dollar out from under his pillow and shouted, "Oh yesss! Awesome! The Tooth Fairy is the best!"

 The lights stopped flashing. The castle shook no more.

 Breakfast time, the little blue fairy said.

 The Tooth Fairy smiled a pearly white grin as she held up a Golden Dollar and began flipping it high into the air. "Heads we have pancakes. Tails and I'm makin' waffles. "

 THE END