Demon Dentist

Alfie tells Raj his plan: Alfie will stay up all night and catch the tooth snatcher when they come to get the tooth from under Alfie’s pillow—Raj’s tooth. They must use one of Raj’s since Alfie’s are all gone. Raj is afraid of pain, and the text includes a pain scale for tooth extraction that goes from “tempt it out” to “[g]et a big fat boy to flick a conker at it” (228-29). (A “conker” is a horse chestnut used in a traditional children’s game of the same name.) They decide to use the trusted tie-it-to-a-doorknob-and-slam-the-door method to extract Raj’s tooth. Alfie counts down from three, but an elderly lady walks into the shop and slams the door before Alfie can get to one. Raj hollers but recovers quickly, and Alfie leaves with Raj’s tooth. Raj also gives Alfie all the coffee-flavored Revels (a chocolate-coated candy) that he can find so that Alfie can stay awake more easily.

At home, Alfie is hesitant to hug Dad because he worries that Dad will see his teeth, but Dad insists. Alfie starts a kettle of water on their camp stove for tea. Winnie arrives, and though Alfie tries to tell her that it is not a good time, she comes in, intent on telling Dad the story about Alfie’s dentist appointment.