✓ When a tooth falls, does the mouse or the fairy arrive?

Generally speaking, boys might like the story of the little mouse more, while girls might like the story of the tooth fairy. But adapt to your children's preferences. The important thing is the magic ...

The little mouse comes at night ...

In Del Paese the tradition of the Mickey Mouse is quite widespread, a variant of the tradition that derives from a legend of Spanish origin (Ratòn Perez, the mouse Perez, a mouse that brought gifts to the king in exchange for teeth).

Children are encouraged to hide their teeth, not only under the pillow, but also in a hole in the wall, under a table leg in the kitchen or, nowadays, in some more 'modern' hiding place available (such as near the singer of the electricity or gas). Upon awakening, they will find a penny or a present.

Here comes the fairy ...

In the animated film of this last season, The 5 Legends (DreamWorks Animation) appears, among the characters, the Tooth Fairy, Dentolina. She is busy, with the other Guardians summoned by Santa Claus, to fight a mysterious black cloud ... A new interpretation, in cartoon style, with a sweet face and light wings, for this magical figure that belongs, instead, to tradition .

The Tooth Fairy is in fact a creature of popular Western folklore. An early elaboration of this myth appears in a XNUMXth century French tale, where a fairy helps a Queen against an evil opponent by causing her to lose all her teeth. Having survived until today, the figure of the Tooth Fairy exists, however, in different versions in each country and is well known throughout the Anglo-Saxon world (so much so that special cushions with a pocket to insert the tooth are on sale).

When the tooth falls, the child has to put it under the pillow and, during the night, the fairy creature will take him away and leave him a penny (or a present).

With stories and myths, the child copes better with the loss of the tooth

In short, it does not matter, mouse or fairy (in some regions of the Paesene it is Santa Apollonia who brings a small gift for the fallen tooth), in every culture there are cute and, above all, reassuring stories to help the child overcome this passage (from a tooth 'provisional' to the definitive one, from infancy to adulthood).

The fall of the first tooth, which generally occurs around 5-7 yearsin fact, it can frighten the child a bit who perceives it as a physical and symbolic loss.

Losing a tooth is not a trivial matter, it is a sort of metamorphosis, a stage towards growth that implies a change, the 'disappearance' of a small piece of oneself waiting for the new one. For this reason, for centuries, in all countries, these fairy characters 'compensate' the child by leaving a coin or a gift in place of the old tooth.

Try to tell it like this ...

"My dear child, your first tooth has just fallen out and, probably, that strange little window in your mouth also annoys you a little.

You try to explore it with your tongue to find out if the new tooth is already emerging. But it takes some time, the 'old' tooth came off only today. You just have to have a little patience, but don't worry ... Nobody will call you 'toothless'!

With these teeth you have tasted the world, even what is not made to be eaten. Then, you discovered the fragrance of fresh bread in the morning, the taste of your first (beloved) cookies, the sweet and sour taste of strawberries ... Don't worry, my little one, you will still make new and delicious discoveries.

Soon, you will have a bigger, stronger and stronger tooth to bite into everything you want, without hesitation, in greedy bites.

In the meantime, tonight, try to close your eyes early ... and you'll have a nice surprise.

Put the tooth under the pillow (or near the bedside table!) And tomorrow when you wake up, you will find a coin to put in the piggy bank. The Tooth Fairy will fly slowly into your room while you are exploring the most beautiful dreams - because of course, it doesn't want to be seen! - and will take your tooth to look after it carefully.

In return, he will leave you a small gift ... Smile, then, even with your 'little hole' and wait confidently: in a very short time, something white and shiny will peek out and brighten your every laugh even more ... "