Tooth-Fairy

Alan had misheard his father when he first told him about the Tooth Fairy. He had heard "truth" instead of tooth. This led him to believe that truths, rather than teeth, were taken from him during the night and replaced with money. As he grew older he wondered what specific truths were swiped by this mystical barterer, and if the absence of these truths was worth the pocket change that he had received in exchange. "I'm not lying on purpose!" he would say to his dad after getting into trouble. "The Truth Fairy took that one from me!" Alan's father didn't find this amusing, and scoffed at what he considered mediocre word-play. Alan spent many nights awake, well into his adult life with a dollar fifty in his hand, waiting for the Truth Fairy to appear, ready to bargain for the truth back.