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Stranger! Do not tempt fate!
The riddles are three;
Death is one!
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"Turandot" is inspired by the Puccini opera, which in turn
is based on the play by Carlo Gozzi, which in turn is based on
an old Chinese legend, which in turn has common roots with
every three-riddles-to-win-the-princess fairy tale or myth you
ever read.
The sock is worked toe-up from a Turkish cast-on, and
features a short-row heel with a tiny pseudo-gusset for extra
ease at the heel angle. |
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The three riddles themselves - the riddles you must
solve correctly (fail and your head is forfeit) in order to
win the hand of Turandot, the Imperial princess with a heart
of ice - are represented by three twist-stitch question marks
on the instep. |
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On the front of the ankle, the Imperial Dynasty is
symbolized by a knitted interpretation of the traditional
Chinese Dragon Knot; |
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on the back is the Double Happiness ideograph common to
weddings and other happy
endings. |
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The cuff, with its quilting in pale yellow silk and its
little golden bells, evokes the wedding night itself, as
imagined by the ministers Ping, Pang and Pong. |
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And the body of
the sock, bamboo stitch in ice-blue bamboo yarn, is a tribute
to Ping’s wistful yearning for his house in Honan, with its
little blue lake surrounded by bamboo ("tutto cinto di
bambù"). |
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