Lisa sat among the trees on the island, drawing.
"Lisa! We need to leave," shouted Mom.
"I'm coming," said Lisa.
Lisa hurried to the boat.
"I just finished my picture. Look."
"Oh, that's very nice," said Mom.
"Is that you on the horse?"
"No," answered Lisa sadly.
"I don't know how to ride a horse.
This is Princess Sunapee and the eagle king."
"It's a nice picture," said Grandma.
"It's also time to teach her to ride."
"Lisa is too young to ride a horse," said Mom to Grandma.
"Wow, what a day!" said Dad.
"I'm exhausted," said Frank.
"I guess it must be all the swimming and baseball."
"I can't wait to go to bed so I can put my eagle feather under my pillow," said Lisa.
"I know it'll work just as well as a tooth."
Back at Grandpa's house, Lisa talked to her brother.
"Having a missing tooth feels strange," said Lisa.
"You'll get used to it," said Frank.
"And the big ones in back feel the strangest."
"I'll lose those too?
Wow, that's a lot of wishes."
"Ah, don't believe in those wishes too much," said Frank.
"My wishes hardly ever came true.
Instead you'll just find a dollar under your pillow in the morning."
"I don't believe you," said Lisa.
"You'll see," Frank said, smugly.
"The tooth fairy is getting old.
She can't grant as many wishes as she used to.
She'll give you a dollar instead.
If you find a dollar under your pillow tomorrow, then you know that your wish isn't going to come true."
Lisa didn't believe her brother because she knew that she was making a wish to the feather fairy and not the tooth fairy.
Lisa carefully put the feather under the pillow of the bottom bunk.
"Did you brush your teeth?" asked Mom.
"Yes, Mom, we both did," said Lisa.
"Mom, Frank said that the tooth fairy is too old to grant wishes anymore.
Is that true, Mom?" asked Lisa.
"No, but the tooth fairy can't grant all wishes.
Her magic is only as big as your tooth.
If your wish is too big for her magic, she sometimes just leaves a dollar," answered Mom.
"Oh," said Lisa, smiling.
"I thought Frank was lying about the dollar, but I guess his wishes were just too big for the tooth fairy."
"Yes, now go to sleep," said Mom.
Before Lisa went to sleep, she wished as hard as she could.
"Please, feather fairy, let me learn how to ride a horse tomorrow."
"Get up, sleepy head," said Frank. It was morning.
"Did the tooth fairy grant your wish or did she just leave you a dollar?" continued Frank.
He reached under Lisa's pillow.
"No! Frank!" shouted Lisa.
"See," said Frank, holding up the dollar.
"The tooth fairy has no magic."
At breakfast Lisa looked glum.
"What's the matter?
Did the tooth fairy grant your wish?" asked Grandma.
"No, not really.
I got a dollar instead," answered Lisa.
"Frank says that's because the tooth fairy is old and her magical powers are weak.
My mother said it was because my wish was too big, but my wish wasn't too big.
I guess Frank was right."
"Hmm," said Grandma, thinking about the situation.
"Being pretty old myself, I don't think the tooth fairy's magic is failing.
If your wish isn't too big, it might come true."
"But why did I get a dollar instead of my wish?" asked Lisa.
"Hmm, that's a little more difficult to answer," said Grandma.
"First, I think it was the tooth fairy that left the dollar.
She came because she knew your tooth came out, but she found no tooth under your pillow.
She can't grant you a wish without a tooth.
Second, because the feather is gone, I think the feather fairy granted your wish."
"But my wish hasn't come true," said Lisa.
"Wishes don't just come true like that," said Grandma.
"Wishes happen only when they are supposed to happen."
Lisa ate her cereal.
She thought it made sense.
Small magic works only when it can happen naturally.
"Where's Mom?" asked Lisa.
"She's in the barn," answered Grandma.
"What are you looking at, Mom?" asked Lisa curiously.
"Oh!" said Mom. "Come and sit beside me.
I'd like to show you a few things.
This is me when I was your age."
"You?" shouted Lisa. "You rode in a horse competition?"
"Yes, I did. I rode and I won," said Mom.
"Wow, you were really lucky," said Lisa.
"Lucky?" replied Mom.
"Yeah, lucky to be able to ride horses every day," answered Lisa.
"Oh," said Mom. "Yes, I was lucky to be able to ride horses every day and to have such a great riding instructor."
"Who taught you how to ride?" asked Lisa.
"My mother," she answered.
"Now grab that bridle and that saddle, and I'll show you how to ride," Mom ordered.
"Now I'm lucky," said Lisa.
"Lucky?" asked Mom.
"Yeah, because now I'm learning how to ride from my mother.
And I know that wishes can come true," said Lisa happily.
"Yes, Lisa, wishes can come true," said Mom.