A tale of bravery

Once upon a time there was a very brave LittleBear.

This LittleBear had a very stubborn little tooth. The little tooth had become old and tired, and had suffered a grievous injury many years before, that had left it sad and brown. The LittleBear's body didn't really know that the sad, brown tooth was there, and so had ignored it. Instead of absorbing all the goodness from the roots of the little tooth, the LittleBear's body just left it be. The LittleBear's body grew a lovely, strong, big, new tooth, which grew and grew as far as it could. But the lovely, strong, big, new tooth crashed into the little old tooth until neither of them could move any more. The LittleBear didn't know what to do. His body was stuck with both the teeth, and he knew that it was time to say goodbye to the little old tooth, but he didn't know how.

The LittleBear's Mummy knew a very special lady who could help. She was an expert in helping teeth to behave themselves, and it was certain that she would know how to help the little old tooth.

So the LittleBear and his Mummy went to visit the special tooth lady, and she offered to help the LittleBear to wiggle the little old tooth out, but the LittleBear was scared of being hurt and he wouldn't let her. He promised to spend three weeks trying to wiggle his poor old tooth out on his own, and to come back to see the special tooth lady if he couldn't.

The LittleBear tried and tried and tried. He wiggled his little old tooth backwards and forwards. He wiggled it to the left, and he wiggled it to the right. He even tried twisting it round, but it was a stubbord little old tooth and it wouldn't let go.

Back to the special tooth lady went the LittleBear and his Mummy. And the LittleBear was big and brave and he let the tooth lady put a strange, minty gel on his gums, but it made his tongue feel funny, and he didn't like it. Then the special tooth lady, ever so carefully, made a tiny pin-prick against the LittleBear's gum, to make the stubborn little tooth go to sleep. But the LittleBear didn't like it, and he flinched, and the little pin-prick scratched the LittleBear, and he really, really didn't like it.

The LittleBear's mouth started to bleed and he cried and cried and cried. His Mummy tried to soothe him, and the special tooth lady promised that if he could just try and stay still she could carry on without any more pain. But he didn't believe her, and he didn't believe his Mummy. All he believed was the pain, and the blood. And soon he was a red and blotchy LittleBear, and the tears were dribbling into his ears as he lay on the tooth lady's funny lying-down-chair.

But the LittleBear tried ever so very hard, and he breathed in with his Mummy, and he breathed out with his Mummy, and he sat up and was cuddled and dried his tears. And then he said, "I'll try and stay still, and you can have one more go."

And even though he was shaking and sweaty and scared, the LittleBear held his Mummy's hands tight, and he lay ever so very still, and the tooth lady made the tiniest of pin-pricks and suddenly the LittleBear couldn't feel his sad old tooth any more, and there wasn't any pain any more. And almost before he knew what had happened there was his poor little old tooth, lying in the palm of the tooth lady's hand.

The special tooth lady was very proud of the LittleBear, and told him that he was the first LittleBear that she'd ever known who had been so sad and so scared but had let her carry on anyway, and that he was the bravest LittleBear she'd met.

And his Mummy was very proud of him too, and she and the LittleBear had ever so very many cuddles for the rest of the afternoon, because he was the bravest LittleBear she knew too.