The Gift™

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?"