4 h 7 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 7 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What chance does a tiny fairy have against a giant? More than the giant thinks.
In Frank R. Stockton’s Ting-a-ling, a tiny, bold fairy faces a world of huge creatures and awkward dangers. The giants have strength, but Ting-a-ling has a quick mind. Around him gather proud, playful fairies and odd companions. When trouble comes, getting himself and his friends out safely calls for clever plans rather than swords.
This collection of fairy tales explores the pleasures of outwitting a stronger enemy and the duties of friendship. Magic has rules, and being small is a problem the fairies must think their way around. Meanwhile, a friendly narrator treats strange events with a straight face, sharing a quiet joke with readers as the adventures unfold.
What you’ll discover
- A tiny, bold hero Meet Ting-a-ling, whose courage and quick thinking matter far more than his size.
- Giants with blind spots Watch huge, strong creatures struggle to notice when small fairies are outwitting them.
- Plans instead of swords Follow playful schemes that make cleverness the fairies’ best weapon against danger.
- Friends who stand together Discover companions whose adventures keep returning to loyalty and what they owe one another.
- A storyteller’s quiet wink Enjoy a narrator who shares the joke without spoiling the fairy-tale spell.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy droll fairy tales, giants with soft hearts, tiny heroes with big souls, and a narrator who winks at you.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Grief gives way to kindness
- A tiny rescuer finds a giant
- Cruel laughter meets practical kindness
- A rescue begins with a performance
- An unlikely helper sees the answer
- Music offers a dangerous crown
- Courage knows when to seek help
- Small hands approach a great danger
- Kindness matters more than size
Who’s who
- Ting-a-lingA fairy an inch and a half tall with a soul as big as a watermelon, who sets out to help the people he pities.
- Tur-il-i-raA kindly giant as large as two mammoths, who takes up every good cause and fixes it with a club and a laugh.
- Princess AufaliaA sheltered princess who weeps easily, loves her prince, and keeps being carried away from home.
- The PrinceA proud, brave and rather vain young man who fights first and thinks afterward, and wants a province.
- NerralinaThe princess's lady, bold enough to bring a rope of scarves to a prisoner, and then pays for it with her head.
- ZamcarThe youngest of five magicians, who helps Ting-a-ling save the princess and keeps a cloak full of surprises.
- MahbraccaA cat-eyed sorceress who lives in a mountain of ghouls and wants to keep a princess from the throne.
- TrumkardAn old companion and adviser to the prince, fond of melon and wine, who knows when to send for a giant.
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Ting-a-ling in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Ting-a-ling
by Frank R. Stockton · 1870
A fairy as small as a pea pod asks a kind giant to save a princess and her prince.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“who, though his body was no bigger than a very small pea pod, had a soul as big as a watermelon”
In short
What happens when a prince asks a veiled princess the way to the baths? In the first pages of Ting-a-ling, it earns him a sentence from her father.
Ting-a-ling at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 20 min1 h 50 min fast, 2 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 32,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1870by Frank R. Stockton
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A tear drowns a fairy and starts everything
The book opens in a faraway eastern country, in a palace of orange groves and fountains. The old king has one child, Princess Aufalia, who is kept in near seclusion. One spring day she walks out veiled, followed by two grim slaves. A handsome young stranger asks her the way to the baths, and she is so astonished that she lifts her veil and talks without stopping.
When the slaves draw their scimitars, the stranger, who is really a prince, chases them out of sight. He escorts the princess home, hoping for a province as his reward. Instead the king has him bound and promises him a dreadful celebration. The prince props a heavy stool across his door.
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Which edition is right for me
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1870
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Stockton, Frank R. Ting-a-ling. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ting-a-ling.
Stockton, F. R. (2026). Ting-a-ling. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ting-a-ling (Original work published 1870)
Stockton, Frank R. Ting-a-ling. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ting-a-ling.
@book{stockton2026tingaling,
author = {Stockton, Frank R.},
title = {Ting-a-ling},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ting-a-ling},
note = {First published 1870}
}
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What is Ting-a-ling about?
It is a set of four linked fairy tales about a tiny fairy named Ting-a-ling and his friend, the giant Tur-il-i-ra. They rescue princesses, defeat a dwarf and a sorceress, and face a monster, all with plenty of jokes.
Who is Tur-il-i-ra?
Tur-il-i-ra is a giant as large as two mammoths, but the kindest creature in the East. He carries lovers in his pockets, picks up barns to use as stools, and fights with a club made from a tree trunk.
Who are the five magicians in the book?
They are Alcahazar, Ormanduz, Mahallah, Akbeck and Zamcar, bearded men in turbans who help Ting-a-ling rescue a princess. Each pulls amazing things from under his cloak, from feasts to crowbars to fireworks.
The author
Frank R. Stockton
1834–1902 · American novelist and humorist
Frank R. Stockton was an American writer born in Philadelphia in 1834. He wrote novels, short stories, and books for children. Ting-a-Ling appeared in 1870, and John Gayther’s Garden and the Stories Told Therein appeared in 1902. He lived in New Jersey and West Virginia. He died in 1902.
“who, though his body was no bigger than a very small pea pod, had a soul as big as a watermelon”
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