

Lily was excited. Today was her birthday. She had a big cake with four candles. She had a pink dress and a crown. She had many friends to play with. She was happy.
But there was one thing that made her even more excited. She had a loose tooth. She wiggled it with her tongue. She felt it move. She wanted it to fall out. She wanted to put it under her pillow. She wanted to get a coin from the tooth fairy.
She told her mom about her tooth. "Mom, look at my tooth. It is loose. It will fall out soon. Can I have a coin from the tooth fairy?" she asked.
Her mom smiled. "Yes, my dear. If you lose your tooth, you can put it under your pillow. The tooth fairy will come at night and give you a coin. But you have to be very careful. Don't lose your tooth before you go to bed. Keep it safe. It is very special."
Lily nodded. She was careful. She ate her cake slowly. She did not bite hard. She did not play rough. She did not want to lose her tooth. She wanted to keep it safe.
But then something happened. She was playing with her friend Ben. He had a balloon. He gave it to her. She took it. She was happy. She blew it. She made it big. She laughed. She did not see the pin. Ben had a pin. He was naughty. He wanted to pop the balloon. He wanted to scare her. He poked the balloon. It popped. It made a loud noise. Lily was scared. She screamed. She opened her mouth. Her tooth flew out. It landed on the floor.
Lily stared. She was shocked. She was sad. She lost her tooth. She did not keep it safe. She did not have it for the tooth fairy. She cried.
Ben stared. He was sorry. He did not mean to make her lose her tooth. He did not mean to make her cry. He felt bad. He said, "I'm sorry, Lily. I'm sorry I popped your balloon. I'm sorry I made you lose your tooth. I did not know it was loose. I did not know it was special. Please don't cry. Please forgive me."
Lily looked at him. She was angry. She was hurt. She did not want to forgive him. She said, "You are mean, Ben. You are not my friend. You ruined my birthday. You ruined my tooth. Go away. Leave me alone."
Ben felt worse. He wanted to make her feel better. He wanted to be her friend. He had an idea. He looked around. He saw something shiny. He picked it up. It was a coin. He did not know where it came from. He did not care. He had a coin. He gave it to her. He said, "Look, Lily. I have a coin. It is for you. It is from the tooth fairy. She saw what happened. She felt sorry for you. She left you a coin. She still loves you. She still thinks you are special. Please take it. Please smile. Please be my friend."
Lily looked at him. She looked at the coin. She was surprised. She was curious. She did not know how he got the coin. She did not know if he was telling the truth. She did not know if the tooth fairy was real. She did not know what to do. She thought for a moment. She decided. She took the coin. She smiled. She said, "Thank you, Ben. Thank you for the coin. Thank you for being sorry. Thank you for being my friend. I forgive you. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm sorry I was mean. Let's play. Let's have fun. It's my birthday. It's still special."
