“The case of Hunter’s missing tooth”

It was a beautiful spring day upon their arrival in Yellowstone National Park.  Hunter and his little sister, Kira, had waited for this trip for months and everyone in their daycare classes knew every detail as they could hardly control their anticipation.

Their first day in the park was going to be a day of fun, learning and of course, geyser hunting. 

Our first stop was at the West Thumb Geyser Basin.  Although this basin does not have any active geysers, it does have lots of hot springs and a mile of board walks to investigate.

While running around on the boardwalks trouble struck.  Mommy, Daddy and Kira had gone ahead to look at the next spring while Hunter stayed behind to look at the Surging Spring pool.   While looking around, Hunter mistakenly pushed his tooth, which had been loose for weeks, and out it went.  It fell down on the boardwalk and “just disappeared!”

But where did it go? 

He heard it hit the wood but it could not be found.  In  a panic, he recruited his mom to help find it but she too could not find the tooth.

“But, mommy, what will the Tooth Fairy do if I cannot find it?” Hunter asked.  Without an easy answer Mommy told Hunter to be sure to write the Tooth Fairy a note when he went to bed that night.  That sounded like a good idea to everyone except Hunter..  “But Mommy, how will the Tooth Fairy find us here; we are not at home?”  The only advice she could think of was to have Hunter wait until he got home in a few days and hopefully the Tooth Fairy would understand.

The rest of the week included hiking, geyser watching, ice cream, and wild animals.  To Hunter that was all fun but his missing tooth was never far from his thoughts.

When Hunter got home later that week, he set out to craft the best note he could for the Tooth Fairy.

“Dear TooF Fiery my toof flue in to the giser win I wus woking.  Love Hunter”

At bedtime the note went under his pillow in hopes of a response.

The next day, Hunter lifted his pillow and was disappointed to see that the note was still there.  The tooth fairy had missed him.

“Hunter, wait! Did you look at the note” his father asked. 

Sure enough the Tooth Fairy had come and left him a note along with the usual $2 bill.  Hunter was so excited.  He read the note out load to his father, then off to the kitchen to read it once again to his mother and sister.  It seems that there was more going on back in Yellowstone than Hunter or his family knew. 

The note from the tooth fairy explained everything:

“Dear Hunter,

Good News!

I found your missing tooth in West Thumb Geyser Basin in the Surging Spring next to the boardwalk.  Luckily enough one of the geyser goblins, who are quite fun and a bit playful were hiding it from you when it fell out.  I promised them some cool lemonade in exchange for your tooth and they agreed.

I am so glad to be able to add your first front tooth to my collection and I have left you the usual fee for it.

The goblins tell me that you and your family had a nice time in Yellowstone and they want you to come back as soon as possible……

Love,

Your Tooth Fairy”

Yellowstone is known for its rich history, water features, geysers, wild life and rugged territory, but no one knew about the geyser goblins.  These fun loving, mischievous little creatures love the tourists and play tricks on them every day.  If it weren’t for the crafty Tooth Fairy, Hunter would still be wondering what happened to his tooth and why the Tooth Fairy had failed to get his note.

The next time you are in Yellowstone, watch out for these little goblins and leave nothing to chance.

###

Copyright © 2007 – 2009, Mountain Goat Publishing Co.  All Rights Reserved