7 ms·

Ah... so what is the plot in The Story of Ping?

• btilly 17y ago
  The Story of Ping is a classic children's story from the 30s. When people had a very different attitude about, for instance, corporal punishment. The summary is that Ping is a duck from a family where the last duck home every night gets beaten. Ping is going to be the last duck one night, so decides to run away. He has a series of scary adventures, learns that home is best of all, and is happy to go home the next day, even with the beatings.
  • shard 17y ago
    I misread "beaten" as "eaten" the first time, and was shocked at the "different attitude about corporal punishment", then even further shocked when I read that he was happy to go home, until I got to the final word...
    • mechanical_fish 17y ago
      Yeah, what you describe sounds more like The Story of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Which, though terrifying, could also be pretty funny in the right hands. (Terry Gilliam)
  • filosofo 17y ago
    "Beaten" exaggerates what happens, which according to the book is a single "spank" by a smiling man holding what appears to be a slender reed. Yeah, I've been reading it to the kids recently.
  • NathanKP 17y ago
    In addition the illustrations (in the original older editions at least) would probably not be considered politically correct these days. They show Chinese people as the typical 1930's "Chinaman" depiction which many might find slightly insulting today.