5-year-old Maria had exactly 20 teeth. 19 of them were regular teeth but one molar was unusual. This molar had arms. Maria named him Zoobie.
Zoobie had his own tiny toothbrush he would brush himself with. He couldn’t brush the other teeth because his arms were too short to reach them, so Maria brushed the rest.
When Maria ate food that Zoobie liked, such as chocolate, he would reach out and grab it with his arms and pull the chocolate to him so that he could chew it and taste it. When Maria ate food that Zoobie didn’t like, he would push it away from him so that he wouldn’t have to taste it.
When Maria drank juice, she took big gulps and Zoobie would nearly drown.
When Maria drank water, Zoobie would shower and clean himself. Zoobie enjoyed his life in Maria’s mouth.
As Maria grew older, she began losing her baby teeth. Zoobie watched as first one tooth and then another would become loose and fall out. Zoobie became worried that one day he would become loose and fall out. He feared what would happen to him after he was away from Maria. A few years passed and sure enough, the day came when Zoobie became loose. With every passing day he became more loose and more worried.
Zoobie held on tight to Maria’s gums trying not to fall out but it was no use. One day Maria pulled him out and placed him carefully underneath her pillow. Zoobie lay scared under the pillow. He did not know what would happen to him. He couldn’t sleep.
But Maria fell asleep and when she did, someone appeared in Maria’s room. A beautiful tooth fairy with wings flew in through the window. Zoobie wasn’t scared of her. She smiled at Zoobie and took him gently in her arms.
The tooth fairy left a coin for Maria and flew with Zoobie up into the sky. They flew for a long time. Zoobie liked flying.
Finally they arrived on a special cloud. The tooth fairy put down Zoobie and he looked around. He saw happy teeth everywhere. Some were playing tennis, some were swimming in pools, others were reading or roller-skating.
Zoobie’s old friends from Maria’s mouth saw him. “Come on over here and play with us!” they said to Zoobie. He played with them and with all the teeth and was very happy.