Noah celebrated a rite of passage in Italy tonight; he lost his first tooth! This is the moment he has been waiting for since the first signs of looseness appeared a couple of weeks ago. Since then, there has been much discussion about how much money the Italian tooth fairy might leave (one has to consider exchange rates of course)! We weren’t even sure if it is the same tooth fairy here as in California. As Noah determinately wiggled his tooth furiously this evening, we decided to search “Italian tooth fairy” on the web. This is what we found:
Fatina dei denti (tooth fairy)– Topolino dei denti (little tooth mouse)
Italians could not choose between the tooth fairy and the tooth mouse. They just kept both! The Fatina dei denti is said to live in a corner of the earth where all nature is pure, lush and full of enchanting scents. This world exists thanks to the imagination of children, so are the children of the world rulers of this magical place. In Italy, the tooth fairy has her faithful helper, topolino dei denti, the little mouse. He lives in a royal palace and directly takes care of the baby teeth of children all over the world, so it is possible that topolino replaces fatina and takes your tooth under the pillow. And in Veneto, in North-Eastern Italy, the one who collects teeth is, according to the tradition, Saint Apollonia, the patron saint of teeth. St. Apollonia is said to be coming on a chariot made of teeth and pulled by mice.
Noah was so thrilled that there may be two tooth collectors in Italy. We wrote a note (in Italian) to the tooth fairy/mouse asking: 1) could they please clarify if they were a fairy or a mouse and 2) could we please keep the tooth.
Noah is now sleeping more earnestly than he ever has before. As he knows, fairy or mouse, nobody will come to leave ANYTHING unless he is really asleep. Thank you, tooth mouse, for making our Sunday night bedtime routine a breeze.