The Stolen Eyes by Pu Songling
As a child, T‘ang steals the glass eyes of a clay image while visiting a temple for theatrical performances. His relative becomes possessed and demands their return; after the family promises to replace them, the voice departs, the relative recovers with no memory of the episode, and the eyes are restored.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Supernatural Fiction, Short Story · 340 words
First lines
When His Excellency Mr. T‘ang, of our village, was quite a child, a relative of his took him to a temple to see the usual theatrical performances.[1] He was a clever little fellow, afraid of nothing and nobody; and when he saw one of the clay images in the vestibule staring at him with its great glass[2] eyes, the temptation was irresistible; and, secretly gouging them out with his finger, he carried them off with him. When they reached home, his relative was taken suddenly ill and remained for a long time speechless; at length, jumping up he cried out several times in a voice of thunder, "Why did you gouge out my eyes? " His family did not know what to make of this, until little T‘ang told them what he had done; they then immediately began to pray to the possessed man, saying, "A mere child, unconscious of the wickedness of his act, took away in his fun thy sacred eyes. They shall be reverently replaced. " Thereupon the voice exclaimed, "In that case, I shall go away; " and he had hardly spoken before T‘ang's relative fell flat upon the ground and lay there in a state of insensibility for some time. When he recovered, they asked him concerning what he had said; but he remembered nothing of it. The eyes were then forthwith restored to their original sockets.
Genres
- Supernatural Fiction — A voice speaking through T‘ang’s relative demands the stolen image’s eyes and departs when the family promises their return.
- Short Story — A single brief episode follows the theft of a temple image’s eyes through possession, recovery, and restoration.
Tags
spirit possession · temple images · childhood · sacrilege · restitution
What this Textopian page supports
The Stolen Eyes is listed on Textopian as a short story by Pu Songling, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Short story
- Author: Pu Songling
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Supernatural Fiction, Short Story
- Length: 340 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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