Shoma, the fattest sheep that farmer Bholu had ever reared, waddled out of her pen with a frown on her face. Of course, Bholu could not notice the frown but Shoma’s mother, the mighty ewe did. She hustled Shoma off to the fields to let her graze, watching after her thoughtfully.
Shoma walked as if in a daze. She stood looking moodily at the field of clover as her brothers and sisters all grazed on. Shoma did not eat because she had a toothache. And boy, did her tooth hurt! It hurt when she chewed, it hurt when she drank and it hurt when she clenched her jaw.
Shoma’s mother walked out to the field. She patted Shoma on her head and gave her a loving look. Shoma blinked back her tears. “It hurts”, she whispered. “Your tooth will come out in a few days. Keep it for the tooth fairy and she will bring you something”, said her mother kindly. “I will bring you special clover to chew on.”
Shoma sat with her mother inside the pen, chewing the tasty, rough clover that her mother had got for her. There was something hard in the clover. Shoma spat it out to see a white, pointed bloodied…. tooth! “I lost my tooth”, she said meekly. “Well, that is good! And it does not hurt any more!”, her mother beamed. “No, it doesn’t”, said Shoma excitedly, feeling the blank spot with her tongue.
“Put it under your pillow when you sleep”, her mother said gaily. That night Shoma was wide awake. Her tooth, wrapped in a bit of leaf was under the straw that Shoma used for a pillow. Her brothers and sisters had gawked at her tooth till late in the night. They turned it over and sighed. They checked their own teeth to see if they had a loose one.
And now, after a long time, Shoma felt like closing her eyes. I want to see the fairy, she thought. And then she slept. The next morning, Shoma scraped through the straw anxiously. “Oh, my!”, she exclaimed. There was the roundest and shiniest copper coin anybody had ever seen! Shoma danced with joy. “Oh, when would I lose another tooth?”, she asked.
Read Write Live 
It’s a lovely story. 🙂
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Thank you so much! I am so glad you liked it 🙂
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It’s a cute story and I just recalled all those stories when I used to hear from kids around me who talked about losing teeth. I almost believed them. Keeping tooth in a mouse hole used to give sharp well-set teeth, while throwing them on bricks used to give big teeth. Strange days, strange feelings.
I wish you very best.
LOve and light ❤
Anand 🙂
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I wrote this story because for children losing a tooth can be momentous. I never knew any tooth fairies when I was little but your stories are really so interesting. I, personally would be scared to go near mouse holes. Bricks would have been better for me. But, getting big teeth for a girl…. society has very strict norms for what girls and boys are expected to be like 🙂
Nor would I call those strange days. I think childhood days were filled with magic and wonder 🙂
Thank you so much for your lovely contribution, Anand.
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Thanks Sona. Your comment is thoughtful. Yes, maybe strange wasn’t the right word. Love and light ❤ Anand
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great job! I remember how the tooth fairy forgot one time! Oh that was BAAAD!! But we fixed it fairly quickly 🙂
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Ha ha! I can imagine that the tooth fairy has so many kids to attend to; and now also sheep, as I pointed out that she can be forgiven for forgetting 🙂
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I used to show my broken tooth to the rising sun and sow it in soil , believing that I’ll get a beautiful tooth after this ritual…:-)
Childhood is so full of magical moments.
Your story took me back in time:-)
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Amazing ritual! I am surprised that there are so many stories we have and believe in as children 🙂 I will teach that to my children- to show the tooth to the rising sun and then sow it in the soil. Not only does it foster faith but it also brings humility knowing the mysterious ways in which nature works.
Thank you for your wonderful contribution!
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This is just a very cute story! Nice one! 😀
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Thank you so much! 🙂
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It is my pleasure! 🙂
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Wow.. Wonderfully written.. Started to feel for shoma though.. 😉.. Though here in India, we don’t have the tooth fairy concept, it’s a nice way to put it to the kids.. 👌👌😊
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Yes, we don’t have the tooth fairy concept in India. I just did not think about it while writing the story. Lol. Because I was brought up on a healthy dose of western literature for children, I assumed that all children think that way and that is what I taught my own children 😀
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True.. Actually have seen it in movies or read in books.. But it’s a wonderful way to explain to children..your post set me thinking on how I used to react on seeing my tooth.. Especially when I used to chew on cadbury eclairs… 😛😂😂
Looking forward to more such posts.. 😃
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Oh, I absolutely try to ban chocolate éclairs when my child has a loose tooth. I just push carrots and radishes 😀
Thank you for liking the story. I loved writing it 🙂
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I wonder if it has any other hidden meaning!
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Ha ha! Please tell me the hidden meaning that you think you found.
When writing a story for children, I try to introduce a fantasy element, in this case, a talking animal, and a setting or incident which the child can relate to, in this case, losing a tooth. Possibly, I can let go of some of the difficult words but I do not want to talk down to children. I want them intrigued enough so that they can guess or try to find the meanings of the unfamiliar words.
I do not believe that every story has to have a moral ; if it entertains, it is good enough.
My daughter loved this story very much – she is in the process of getting a new set of teeth and that was a validation for me writing this 🙂
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Unfortunately I couldnt find any hidden meaning, So i was asking the author directly 😉
Yes, I understand your vision now.
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