Ben had his very first wobbly tooth. It was a front tooth, right in the middle of his smile. He pushed it with his tongue, and it moved.
Back and forth, back and forth it went. Ben wiggled it all morning. But the little tooth just would not come out.
Everyone had a tip. Lily said, "Bite a crunchy apple!" His friend at school said, "Just wiggle it more!"
Grandpa laughed and joked, "We could tie a string to the doorknob!" Ben wiggled and wiggled. But the tooth held on tight.
Then Ben started to worry. What if his tooth never came out? What if it fell out at the wrong time?
It might pop out right in the middle of lunch. It might pop out during the school play! Ben felt excited and nervous, all at once.
So Ben was very careful all day. He chewed only on the other side. He checked the tooth in the mirror again and again.
Each time he looked, the tooth wobbled a little more. Little by little, it grew more and more loose.
That night at dinner, Ben bit into a warm ear of corn. And then — POP! Out came the tiny tooth!
It sat in his hand, small and white and smooth. Ben grinned the biggest gap-toothed grin you ever saw.
That night, Ben tucked the little tooth under his pillow. In the morning, a shiny coin was waiting there instead.
Ben smiled at the new gap in his grin. He had lost his very first tooth — and he was one whole tooth bigger.