The Jade Horse with the Diamond Eyes

Here is a another short story from Annie Parmeter, written when she was 12 at Moorestown College, St Peter.

The Jade Horse with the Diamond Eyes
by Annie Parmeter
 
Li Ting Po sat patiently carving a beautiful piece of jade. Skillfully he fashioned the shape of a beautiful horse, and with each stroke of his implement, he incised a spell into the carving.
 
Lovingly he fitted its diamond eyes. This was to be his masterpiece, specially commissioned by the Emperor Tseen-Kang.
 
Li Ting Po was seeking revenge on the avaricious Tseen-Kang because this Emperor had confiscated his farms to change into part of the Imperial gardens. The spell of the horse would be his revenge on the Emperor.
 
The horse was to be presented to the Emperor, and Li Ting Po carried it carefully into the Hall of Audience. The Hall of Audience was a vast marble construction with a gold roof inlaid with precious stones. The Emperor's throne was made of rose quartz and gilded wood, his magnificent robes were of multicoloured silks, embroidered with exquisite patterns and scenes.
 
Li Ting smiled inscrutably as he presented his masterpiece to the ever treasure-hungry Tseen Kang. The Emperor was greatly pleased with this wonderful work of art.
 
Then the Emperor ordered the carving to be placed in his bedroom.
 
The following morning, the Emperor was found dead, in his bed, and a blinding ray of light seemed to come from the eyes of the horse; while on the wall was written "those who own me, shall never live to see" - meaning that those who own the horse will be blinded with such pain that it would kill.
 
Tseen-Kang was buried in the family vault at the Temple of the Thundering Winds. Li Ting Po, still smiling inscrutably, called at the tomb to pay his last respects.