Ting Tong Pingby Lois Higdon Rice illistrated by Clarence Collister |
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On August 18, 1982 a little mouse named Ting Tong Ping was
born on an assembly line in a Taiwan plastic factory. Ting Tong
was very tiny and he was destined to stay small all his life.
He had a long tail and big ears and a happy smile on his face.
Shortly after his birth he was taken to his mobile home, which
was a round plastic dome, where he would remain as long as he
lived. |
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When Ting Tong was only a few weeks old, he was loaded in
a box with his many brothers and sisters, then taken in a big
truck to a ship in the harbor, where he began a long journey
to the United States. He felt very sea sick as he was tossed
around by the big waves under the ship. Ting Tong was happy when
the ship finally docked off the Texas Coast at Galveston. |
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Then he was taken to a bowling alley and put into a home he
liked very much. It was round and had big windows and he could
sit all day and watch children who were having fun bowling with
their families or friends. Sometimes one of the children would
put a quarter in his home and it made it spin around. He liked
the spin, but it always meant that one of his brothers or sisters
would be moving out forever. |
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He felt happy when he heard Kyle say, "Here, do you want
this?" and Kevin said he did. Ting Tong was happy to escape
death in the trash can. |
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After they had driven for a while Kevin said, "Here,
Grandma, you take him." |
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Grandma reluctantly took the mouse and put him, mobile home and all into her purse. Ting Tong did not like having to be back in the dark again, but at least he wasn't alone, because Kevin's grandma had a lot of things in her purse and Ting Tong soon made friends with a tube of red lipstick.
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"Have you ever been to Oklahoma?" Ting Tong asked
the lipstick. |
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After a long journey through Dallas, then across the Red River
and over the Arbuckle Mountains, Ting Tong arrived at Grandma's
house in Norman. She took him from her purse and sat him on a
table. He was happy to see things again and a little boy named
Jacob came one day and played with him. They had a lot of fun.
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One day Grandma and Grandpa put up a big Christmas tree with
pretty colored lights. It was the first Christmas tree Ting Tong
had ever had. He thought it was very beautiful. But one day Grandma took the tree down and Grandpa took it
outside and he never saw it again. He just sat on his table and
was bored. Jacob didn't come to play any more. Ting Tong heard
Grandma say something about him going to a thing called school.
Then Grandma didn't even come in the morning to drink her coffee
and read her books and pray. Ting Tong was very lonely indeed.
He heard Grandpa telling someone on the telephone that Grandma
was having the flu. He wondered what that meant. |
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Then one day Grandma was back again. She picked up Ting Tong and said, "Well, Young Man, it is time we do something with you. How can I write a story about you when you never do anything? Stories are about people who do things."
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