英語(yǔ)播客 A Cup of English The cost of teeth is rising.

We've had teeth all over the house recently. My children just happen to be at the ages where they are all losing teeth. For my oldest boys, it's no longer a novelty. They have gaps here and there where teeth are growing in. And the contrast between their new, big, adult teeth, and their baby teeth is quite amusing. My third son still gets excited about losing teeth because of the prospect of getting money. In his mind, each dollar he gets is a step closer to him obtaining a Star Wars Lego kit. My daughter, on the other hand, is still taken up by the mystery around the Tooth Fairy. Does she exist? How does she sneak into the bedroom and take the tooth away without waking anybody up? Is she beautiful? Surely Mom isn't the Tooth Fairy. And Dad certainly can't be. So, fairies do exist, right? And is what the older brothers say true, or are they just being old meanies, as usual. The big boys laugh about the idea of believing in fairies. But, you know, I don't think that upsets Domini very much. She has a natural resistance to anything her brothers say or do anyway, so what they say might actually encourage her to believe in fairies even more. I personally believe in garden fairies. I admit it. I haven't seen them, but I'm sure that they live at the bottom of the garden, are tiny, have wings, and are very quick, and very smart. All inteligent people know that.... The Tooth Fairy must be a cousin of some sort. There, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. One thing that I have noticed about fairies is that they keep up with the cost of living. They no longer leave coins; they leave paper money. They know a good commodity when they see one. I suspect that they know more about the value of teeth than we do. They have their bills, and we have ours, so they need a good quality tooth in exchange for a dollar. After all, food, clothes, wing maintenance services, and babysitters, are all more expensive than they used to be. So, with the fall out of teeth in this house, I find that a couple of quarters just isn't enough. The nice sound of two coins clinking together is not acceptable anymore. It's the lonely, silent dollar that is wanted. It's dangerous to mess around with fairy tales. And it's wise to keep the children and the fairies happy.

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary: novelty, the prospect of, mean, commodity.

1. That novelty shop sells the most unusual items.

2. I'm excited at the prospect of winning the marathon.

3. That person is mean. Perhaps, he doesn't have any friends and that's why he's like that.

4. Wood is a commodity that is globally more in demand.