She travels the world diligently visiting children while they sleep to trade with them a set monetary value for their lost teeth. Although few people have ever seen her. She is depicted as being a beautiful youthful fairy or one with a grandmotherly appearance.
Generally shown as being clothed in a beautiful flowing gown she carries a small wand that sparkles and rains down tiny rainbow coloured dust as she twirls it to draw out the small teeth hidden under pillows where the young children sleep. To honour her endeavours there are two days of the year set aside as National Tooth Fairy Day these being February 28th and August 22nd. In fairy form she has no name and is referred to only as the Tooth Fairy but this is not the only form that she is recognized as appearing in. Her legend is as intriguing as she herself is.
It All Begins With a Wee Little Mouse
A fairy changes herself into a tiny mouse and hides beneath an evil kings pillows. She does this so that she might harass him in the middle of the night and thereby free the good queen and her daughter from his tyranny.
This story of a little fairy mouse is La Bonne Petite Souris by Madame d’Aulnoy and today it is a mouse named la petite souris who visits children in France. This tale is of a fairy who morphs into a tiny mouse to provide rewards to children in exchange for their lost baby teeth. She scampers beneath the child's pillow in the night and in exchange for the tooth leaves either money or a sweet.
A mouse is present in tales from other cultures as well, although with a different story line behind them. The early connection of a mouse to lost teeth exists in India, Korea, Vietnam, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Spain and also a number of other countries. In Spain it is a small mouse simply known as "el Ratoncito Perez" or "The Tooth Mouse" who places a coin under the child's pillow while they sleep. The tooth mouse offers a monetary exchange and then it takes the tooth away for its own purposes. In Ireland this mouse is known as Annabogle while in Italy it is known as Topino.
It is believed that this custom insures strong healthy teeth for a lifetime to come. This is based on the fact that a mouse's teeth continue to grow and therefor remain healthy throughout its lifetime. In other cultures it is a custom to toss the lost tooth into a fire as a means of preventing hardship from falling onto the child.
With the passing of time the tooth mouse has in many countries magically transformed itself into a beautiful maiden with wings and a magic wand to help her extract found teeth from under pillows around the world. This is the image we have in the United States and Canada. This glittery sparkling fairy lives within the hearts and minds of children and her visits are looked forward to with great excitement. Indeed it is within the innocent wonder of children that mythical persons like the Tooth Fairy are able to come to life.
There is no set fee that she pays and her rewards are largely based on a parent's income or to the amount paid to the child's peers. Occasionally this decision is based on which tooth is lost or the degree of difficulty in its extraction. One thing remains as a given: If a child believes in the tooth fairy then she exists. Children provide the entry port for fairies, mythical beasts, and other magical beings to come to life. These special beings live within a child's world to enliven, excite, and entice them into an adulthood filled with optimism and generosity.
