Clara lost her tooth tonight. After wiggling it for several days her sister finally jumped on her head and knocked it loose. She wasn’t at all upset about it. In fact, she was so excited she hardly touched any of her dinner that had just been placed on the table.

“How am I going to be able to eat anything now?” She asked with genuine concern, “I mean, I know how I’ll be able to eat big things, that’s easy, but small things are just going to pass right through.” She poked a pinky finger through the gap in her teeth and sighed in frustration. I reassured her that she will probably figure it out by breakfast time tomorrow.

later, I sat on the edge of her bed and held the tiny white tooth up to the light. “Granddaddy said that I could put it under my pillow tonight and maybe I’ll find some money there in the morning.”

“Oh really?” I looked down at her as she gazed up at the tooth. “How much do you think a tooth like this would go for?” I placed it in her tiny palm.

She squinted at it. “Oh, probably only a dollar maybe. It’s pretty small.”

I nodded. “That seems reasonable.”

Then she grinned showing her fresh black gap, “But I have some more coming later that are much bigger and I bet those are worth a lot more.” Her eyes sparkled slyly. “Maybe lots and lots more.” She slid her tongue back and forth along her shiny white teeth, and her eyes went out of focus as she quietly added up her fortune.