Can you remember the first time when you pulled out a tooth? For me, it was about 7 or 8 years old - I cannot remember the exact age but – and I can still recall the moment. Around that time, one of my big front teeth had been wobbling. I should go to see the dentist but I didn't. I was scared of hospital especially the dentist's offices which was usually full of noisy drill sound and strange smell comparable to mixture of bad breath and alcohol. One day, I saw a boy taking out a tooth at his home on television. It seemed like I could feel less pain if my parents extract it. I thought my father could do much better than the dentist.
When you pull out someone's teeth, you have to give his head a hard push backwards and pull quickly the string tying his teeth forward. With the power created by the gap between the head going backwards and teeth pulling forward, the teeth fall out easily. I mean theoretically.
I called my father. "Daddy, would you do me a favor?" "Sure, my lovely daughter (he really said like this when I was young). What is it?" He smiled down at me. "Can you help me pull out my front tooth? I know some people extract their teeth at home. I think it will be less painful than doing it in dentist's office," I said. "Okay. I can do that for you. When I was a kid, I also had a tooth taken out at home. Your grandfather pulled my teeth; actually it was done by a big iron pliers," he tried to frighten me. "Oh my god, I don't want to pull out my tooth by that awful tool. Just do it by your own hand without any kind of tools. That's why I don't want to go clinic," I said. "Okay, chicken. I'll follow what you want me to do." Then he went to bring string to tie my tooth.
Then I jumped into my parents' bed and waited for my father to tie my front tooth. The bed was the most cozy and safe place for me. As I dreamed nightmare, I always went to my parents' room and got warm sleep there. So that was the perfect place to do something I was afraid of. My father said, "Okay, I tied your tooth with this string and I'm going to pull out it. Let's count 1, 2,…" Then my father slapped my forehead and tugged the string before counting 3. But the problem was he did all the things being not strong enough to pull out my tooth. Therefore I was just hit by him and the tooth that had to be taken out remained intact. I blubbered like a baby. His behavior was nothing but clouting on me. He looked embarrassed and tried to assure me. But I instantly went to my mother.
"Mom--," I cried. She was washing the dishes after our dinner. Then she asked: "Why are you crying?" I replied, "Dad could not extract my loose tooth. He just hit my head and didn't tug the string fast." She said, "Ah! What a stupid thing to do! I'll help you. Let's see. Open your mouth…and there is it!" She pulled the string tightly without any hesitation even though she was wearing a pair of pink rubber gloves used for washing dishes. The teeth was pulled out finally by my mother.
After that, I got really valuable two lessons. The first thing is if I have to pull out my teeth, it's better go to see dentist because actually it's less painful – because the dentist would not hit my brow – and takes a few minutes. And mother is stronger than the father in both strength and authority in my home. That's really true.
Good morning Min Jeong, this is MinGu.
ReplyDeleteOh my god your story was fantastic! Reading your story made me feel as if I became your father's "lovely daughter" :) The story was intriguing, and you used a lot of good expressions as well.
I found few minor mistakes that I would like to point out. First of all, on the second paragraph, 'the string quickly' seems to be the right decision. On the 4th paragraph, 'I'm going to pull it out', and on the last paragraph, 'it's actually less painful' seems to be a better choice.
Apart from a few grammar mistakes, the way you inserted direct quotations attract readers, but I would say it seems a little excessive, replacing some with your monologue might be a stronger to express how you felt.
Other than that, great story. Thanks!
Can you remember the first time when you pulled out a tooth? For me, it was about 7 or 8 years old - I cannot remember the exact age but – and I can still recall the moment. Around that time, one of my big front teeth had been wobbling. I should go to see the dentist but I didn’t. I was scared of hospital especially the dentist’s offices which was usually full of noisy drill sound and strange smell comparable to mixture of bad breath and alcohol. One day, I saw a boy taking out a tooth at his home on television. It seemed like I could feel less pain if my parents extract it. I thought my father could do much better than the dentist.
DeleteWhen you pull out someone’s teeth, you have to give his head a hard push backwards and pull quickly the string tying his teeth forward. With the power created by the gap between the head going backwards and teeth pulling forward, the teeth fall out easily. I mean theoretically.
I called my father. “Daddy, would you do me a favor?” “Sure, my lovely daughter (he really said like this when I was young). What is it?” He smiled down at me. “Can you help me pull out my front tooth? I know some people extract their teeth at home. I think it will be less painful than doing it in dentist’s office,” I said. “Okay. I can do that for you. When I was a kid, I also had a tooth taken out at home. Your grandfather pulled my teeth; actually it was done by a big iron pinchers,” he tried to frighten me. And it worked. After hearing his childhood story, I was so afraid that I thought he might pull out my tooth by the scary tools like pinchers or hammer. I told him not to use tools but do it by his own hand. My father agreed with my idea and followed what I want him to do. Then he went to bring the string to tie my tooth.
Then I jumped into my parents’ bed and waited for my father to tie my front tooth. The bed was the most cozy and safe place for me. As I dreamed nightmare, I always went to my parents’ room and got warm sleep there. So that was the perfect place to do something I was afraid of. My father said, “Okay, I tied your tooth with this string and I’m going to pull it out. Let’s count 1, 2,…” Then my father slapped my forehead and tugged the string before counting 3. But the problem was he did all the things being not strong enough to pull out my tooth. Therefore I was just hit by him and the tooth that had to be taken out remained intact. I blubbered like a baby. His behavior was nothing but clouting on me. He looked embarrassed and tried to assure me. But I instantly went to my mother.
“Mom--,” I cried. She was washing the dishes after our dinner. Then she asked: “Why are you crying?” I replied, “Dad could not extract my loose tooth. He just hit my head and didn’t tug the string fast.” She said, “Ah! What a stupid thing to do! I’ll help you. Let’s see. Open your mouth…and there is it!” She pulled the string tightly without any hesitation even though she was wearing a pair of pink rubber gloves used for washing dishes. The tooth was pulled out finally by my mother.
After that, I got really valuable two lessons. The first thing is if I have to pull out my teeth, it’s better go to see dentist because it’s actually less painful – because the dentist would not hit my brow – and takes a few minutes. And mother is stronger than the father in both strength and authority in my home. That’s really true.