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He held out the little red felt pillow and pointed to its tiny pocket, which held a quarter, instead of a tooth.
“Look, Mom!Look what the tooth fairy left me.Twenty-five cents!”
I shared his excitement, and we chatted for a few minutes about the purposes to which he would put his new wealth.I returned to my kitchen activities, but he lingered, silent, a thoughtful look on his face.“Mom,” he hesitated, “is there really a tooth fairy, or do you put this money in my tooth pillow and take away my tooth?”
Of course I knew I would have to answer such questions, but in spite of seven years of preparation, I hadn’t really thought through a suitable reply.I stalled1 for a time by asking, “What do you think, Simon?”
“Could be either,” he reasoned.“It seems like something you would do, but I know some things are magic, too.”
“What would you like to think?” I continued, still uncertain about whether or not I was about to break his heart.
“It doesn’t really matter,” he said with confidence.“I like it either way.If there is a tooth fairy, that’s pretty exciting; and if it’s you, that’s pretty nice, too.”
I concluded that no disappointment would result from my answer, so I confessed to being his benefactor2, and he smiled contentedly.I then cautioned him not to say anything to his younger brother, explaining, “Each child is entitled to the magic until he or she is ready to ask the question that you did today.Do you understand that?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding.He took great pride in his older brother role, and I knew he would never spoil anything intentionally.I considered the matter closed, but still he lingered in the kitchen.
“Is there something else, Simon?” I asked.
“Just one more question, Mom.Does Dad know?”
他拿着那个红色的小毡布枕头，指着上面的小口袋让我看。那里面本来放着他刚刚换下来的一颗牙齿，现在变成一枚25美分的硬币了。
“瞧，妈妈！看牙仙给我留下什么了。是25美分呢！”
看到他那兴奋的样子，我也很高兴，我们就他将如何处理他的新财富的问题讨论了几分钟。然后，我回到厨房里继续做事，但是，他在我身边徘徊着不走，却又不说话，脸上露出深思的表情。“妈妈，”最后，他终于迟疑着开口了，“世上真的有牙仙，还是你把钱放进我的装牙齿的口袋里，并且把我的牙齿拿走的呢？”
我早就知道迟早会遇到这个问题的，但是尽管已经准备了七年，我还是不知道该如何回答才能让他满意。我故意拖延着，转而问他：“西蒙，你是怎么想的呢？”
“有两种可能，”他若有所思地说，“这看起来像你做的事，但是我知道有时也会有奇迹发生。”
“那么你希望是哪一种呢？”我接着问他，心里还是不能确定我是否会令他失望。
“其实，这并不重要，”他信心十足地说。“两种我都喜欢。如果真有牙仙，我会觉得很兴奋；但如果是你，我也同样觉得高兴。”
听了他的回答，我知道不管我如何回答都不会令他失望了，于是我就坦白告诉他的确是我用硬币换走了他的牙齿。听了我的回答，他满意地笑了。我警告他不要把这件事告诉弟弟，并且向他解释说：“每一个孩子都有权利幻想，直到他或她能够提出像你今天提出的这个问题。你明白吗？”
“明白了，”他说着点了点头。他对做“哥哥”这个角色感到很得意，而且我知道他绝不会故意毁约。我以为事情到此就算结束了，但是他仍然在厨房里逗留着。
“还有什么事吗，西蒙？”我问。
“再问你一个问题，妈妈。爸爸知道吗？”
艾草 摘译自Children
“Look, Mom!Look what the tooth fairy left me.Twenty-five cents!”
I shared his excitement, and we chatted for a few minutes about the purposes to which he would put his new wealth.I returned to my kitchen activities, but he lingered, silent, a thoughtful look on his face.“Mom,” he hesitated, “is there really a tooth fairy, or do you put this money in my tooth pillow and take away my tooth?”
Of course I knew I would have to answer such questions, but in spite of seven years of preparation, I hadn’t really thought through a suitable reply.I stalled1 for a time by asking, “What do you think, Simon?”
“Could be either,” he reasoned.“It seems like something you would do, but I know some things are magic, too.”
“What would you like to think?” I continued, still uncertain about whether or not I was about to break his heart.
“It doesn’t really matter,” he said with confidence.“I like it either way.If there is a tooth fairy, that’s pretty exciting; and if it’s you, that’s pretty nice, too.”
I concluded that no disappointment would result from my answer, so I confessed to being his benefactor2, and he smiled contentedly.I then cautioned him not to say anything to his younger brother, explaining, “Each child is entitled to the magic until he or she is ready to ask the question that you did today.Do you understand that?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding.He took great pride in his older brother role, and I knew he would never spoil anything intentionally.I considered the matter closed, but still he lingered in the kitchen.
“Is there something else, Simon?” I asked.
“Just one more question, Mom.Does Dad know?”
他拿着那个红色的小毡布枕头，指着上面的小口袋让我看。那里面本来放着他刚刚换下来的一颗牙齿，现在变成一枚25美分的硬币了。
“瞧，妈妈！看牙仙给我留下什么了。是25美分呢！”
看到他那兴奋的样子，我也很高兴，我们就他将如何处理他的新财富的问题讨论了几分钟。然后，我回到厨房里继续做事，但是，他在我身边徘徊着不走，却又不说话，脸上露出深思的表情。“妈妈，”最后，他终于迟疑着开口了，“世上真的有牙仙，还是你把钱放进我的装牙齿的口袋里，并且把我的牙齿拿走的呢？”
我早就知道迟早会遇到这个问题的，但是尽管已经准备了七年，我还是不知道该如何回答才能让他满意。我故意拖延着，转而问他：“西蒙，你是怎么想的呢？”
“有两种可能，”他若有所思地说，“这看起来像你做的事，但是我知道有时也会有奇迹发生。”
“那么你希望是哪一种呢？”我接着问他，心里还是不能确定我是否会令他失望。
“其实，这并不重要，”他信心十足地说。“两种我都喜欢。如果真有牙仙，我会觉得很兴奋；但如果是你，我也同样觉得高兴。”
听了他的回答，我知道不管我如何回答都不会令他失望了，于是我就坦白告诉他的确是我用硬币换走了他的牙齿。听了我的回答，他满意地笑了。我警告他不要把这件事告诉弟弟，并且向他解释说：“每一个孩子都有权利幻想，直到他或她能够提出像你今天提出的这个问题。你明白吗？”
“明白了，”他说着点了点头。他对做“哥哥”这个角色感到很得意，而且我知道他绝不会故意毁约。我以为事情到此就算结束了，但是他仍然在厨房里逗留着。
“还有什么事吗，西蒙？”我问。
“再问你一个问题，妈妈。爸爸知道吗？”
艾草 摘译自Children