Ten:
"Quit hiding, evil dog." Brian started rummaging through the neighborhood trash cans. "I know carrion seduces you. Show yourself."
"Li'l boy?" A miniature woman with clear butterfly wings stepped from behind a trash can. "Li'l boy? Are you here to look for coupons, too? Because if you are, we were here first."
"We?" said Brian. "We who? Who's we?"
"Well certainly not you, silly," said another fairy.
"Who are you?" said Brian.
"Why, we're coupon fairies, of course," said the fairy.
"Coupon fairies?" said Brian. "There's no such thing as coupon fairies. What are coupon fairies?"
"We're like tooth fairies," said the other fairy. "But instead of your teeth, we take the coupons your folks throw out."
"Then we sell them back for the tiny amounts of money the coupons say they're worth," said the fairy. A coupon she had displayed in its fine-print a value of one one-hundredth of a cent. "Now if you're here to look for coupons, you need to run along because we were here first."
"I'm not here for coupons," said Brian. "I'm here to look for a dog."
"A dog?" said the fairy. "Who would throw out a dog with the garbage?"
"With all our coupons?" said the other fairy.
"No, no," said Brian. "I'm not looking in the garbage for a dog because someone threw him out. I'm looking in the garbage for a dog because of the baby-diapers—"
"Wait, you're here to look for a baby then?" said the fairy.
"Well, why didn't you say you were here to look for a baby?" said the other fairy.
"Do you know the baby that lives here, li'l boy?" said the fairy.
"You mean the Bannisters' baby?" said Brian.
"Bannister?" said the fairy. "That's the name of the momma... the poppa... and the baby?"
"Now if you're here to look for babies, you need to run along because we were here first," said the other fairy.
"I'm here," said Brian, "to look for a dog."
"Your dog?" said the fairy.
"Yes," said Brian. "A dog. Have you seen him?"
"A li'l spotted dog?" said the fairy.
"With a spot over its eye like an eye-patch?" said the other fairy.
"—yes," said Brian. "You've seen him?"
"Why no," said the fairy.
"Not at all," said the other fairy.