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The most
precious of gifts... The story of Analissa and Gianetto
began in the wondrous workshop of the master puppet-maker,
Donato Gianelli. One winter, the Grand Duke was to marry his
beloved, Catherina. The whole town was joyously preparing gifts
for the royal couple, and Donato wanted his gift to be the most
beautiful - so he decided to make a pair of marionettes. The
dolls were to be his finest work, and after many weeks of
carving heads, hands and feet from the strongest wood as well as
sewing costumes from the finest fabrics, the pair was ready to
have their strings attached. It was just about midnight when
Donato finished attaching the strings and handles; and not
wanting to tangle the two marionettes together, he placed
Analissa and Gianetto down on his worktable alongside one
another until the next morning. That night while Donato slept, a
cold, enchanted wind blew through a window that he had
mistakenly left open, leaving everything covered in a frost that
sparkled like crushed diamonds. In the morning, the master woke
and went into his workshop to admire his wonderful new
creations; but he could not believe his eyes at what he saw! On
the table were Analissa and Gianetto attached to a single set of
strings that were connected to only one handle. Donato could not
understand what had happened. He wondered, "who would have
done this?"!
The wedding
was now only two days away, so he set off quickly to separate
the marionettes in time for their presentation. Again he worked
until very late into the night; and not wanting this to happen
again, he placed Analissa on one table and Gianetto on another.
Early the next morning Donato found the marionettes resting on
one table together sharing one set of strings and only one
handle. It was now one day away from the wedding and Donato was
again confused by what had happened. He rushed yet again to
separate and restring them. That night Donato decided to stay
awake and keep watch in hope he could catch who was doing this
to his beautiful marionettes. But alas, Donato fell into a deep
sleep by the warmth of the cozy fire. It was morning of the
wedding - Donato raced from his chair but could not believe his
eyes. "Oh no," cried Donato, "not again! Who
joined the two of you together again?" At this point, it
was too late to do anything to fix them, so he had no choice but
to give them as they were. At the wedding banquet, Donato
presented Analissa and Gianetto to the newly married couple.
Before he could explain his story, the Grand Duchess rose from
her chair and exclaimed, "No one could, or will ever give
us a more perfect gift! To have both marionettes strung together
serves as a symbol of our love as one." Her voice made the
marionettes very happy as they well knew they would never be
separated again. And of course, they all lived happily ever
after…
16"
Analissa™ features 13 points of articulation (neck,
shoulders, elbows, wrists, bust line, waist, hips, and knees),
is crafted of high quality vinyl and hard plastic, and has hand
painted face details with rooted black hair.
17" Gianetto™ features 14 points of articulation
(neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, chest, hips, knees, and
ankles), is crafted of high quality vinyl and hard plastic, and
has hand painted face details with wigged black hair.
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