"Even if you really did see a monster," Tatum said in a plaintive voice, "don't you think it would've been gone by now?" It had been a full four days since they had run from the village and Tatum was desperate to get back. Fado had "run away" from the village before when the teasing had gotten especially bad, but never had it lasted longer than a single day. This time, however, this oddball girl had somehow become especially stubborn. She had even gone so far as to build a lean-to up in the trees and gathered mushrooms and berries that she stored in a hollow there. Even so, Tatum hoped Fado would soon get over this game. The girl's hair was so thoroughly tangled with leaves and twigs and her tunic and breeches little more than rags that she could pass for a stalfos.

"We're never going back," Fado replied obstinately, using a stick to thwack the branch on which she was perched. "I swear I saw it. It must have eaten everybody by now, so even if we wanted to..."

Her fairy jumped up in a fit of frustration. "Ooh! You... you overimaginative... weirdo! It was just a nightmare! You're making us suffer out here just because you had a bad dream! And I've just about had enough!"

Fado blinked at her in shock. Her voice came out softly, "But it... it wasn't a dream! I saw it!"

"Oh really!" Tatum turned to face her with her hands on her hips. "Tell me then: why would there be a monster in Kokiri Village? Huh? Nothing bad's ever happened before! It can't! All the monsters are outside Kokiri Forest and they can't get in! You know why? Because the Great Deku Tree protects us! He keeps us safe! And as long as he's alive, nothing could ever hurt us! So stop telling this stupid story of yours and let's go home!" Her voice had gotten so loud it startled a flock of birds in the nearby tree, who took off with twitters of alarm.

"But I saw it!" Fado screamed. "Why won't you believe me? I saw it right under my bed! Where I hid my..." she stopped herself with a gasp and covered her mouth.

Tatum looked at her suspiciously. "What was that?"

Fado shook her head. "N-nothing. None of your business!"

"You're hiding something," Tatum accused her. "What is it?"

"Nothing!" the girl waved her hand as if to swat her fairy. "Go away!"

"Does it have anything to do with that bundle you say you found on the bridge?"

"I told you not to look in my stuff!" Fado got to her feet, forgetting that the roof of the lean-to didn't give her room for that. There was a moment of confusion for her as her head broke up the bundle of sticks, sending them all clattering past her vision to the ground and then she fell with a short scream until she landed with a whump that knocked all the breath out of her.

Tatum cried out and flew down to her, asking her anxiously, "Are you all right? Did you get hurt?"

Fado got to her feet, whimpering with pain but waved Tatum away. "Just go away. Leave me alone."

"Fine then," said Tatum, crossing her arms. "You can stay out here until you turn into a stalfos for all I care. I'm going home." She turned and started to fly.

Then they both heard a voice moan, "Faaaaadooooooooooo..."

Tatum wheeled around to her Kokiri who had turned white with shock. She was crouched defensively, her head swiveling around wildly. "Who-who's there?" she stammered.

"Faaaaaadooooooo," the voice moaned again.

Fado whimpered, "Wha-what do you want?"

"Oh, Fado. Oh, child of the forest, heed my words. Something is not well. The forest is unbalanced. A great evil has come and threatens our peace here. But how has it come? Through guile and deception? Through disobedience, child?"

Fado hunched over, her hands placed over her ears. "But I didn't! I didn't! It wasn't me!"

"You were warned not to leave the Forest. Never to stray from the safety of its borders. And while you have not strictly broken that law, you brought in something not of this wood-received from a stranger-an outsider-an evil thing that was never meant to be here and in so doing you have endangered us all."

Fado shook her head, her eyes tightly shut, and screamed, "I didn't! I didn't! I didn't!"

"Because of you, now the trees tremble in fear, the daughters of the wood are in disarray, and the great patriarch of this forest, the one you call the Great Deku Tree, suffers in the grip of a waking nightmare, attacking all who approach him. What have you to say for yourself?"

At the top of her lungs, Fado screeched, "IT WASN'T ME! IT WAS THAT MAN! HE DID IT! HE GAVE ME THAT BALL!" Then she started running as fast as she could.

The voice sighed sorrowfully, "Oh, Fado. Oh, foolish, foolish child. What have you done?"

Fado refused to listen anymore. She ran. She ran as fast as she could, charging through branches, shoving through bushes, and pushing through anything that stood in her way. And now the trees moved to block her, reaching down branches, springing up roots to trip her, showering her with acorns and pinecones, yet on she ran. She didn't think of where she was running to or when she would stop. She only wanted to get as far away from that horrible voice as she could. Away from the accusations, the hurtful words, the voice telling her it was her fault, that she brought in the monster, that she had put everyone in danger because of her foolishness. But it wasn't her fault. She had only wanted the pretty ball. She hadn't wanted the monster that had come out of it...

It had been the middle of the night when she had awoken to the sound of scratching coming from beneath her bed where she had hidden the present the man had given her. Her first thought had been "My ball!" though she didn't remember this afterward as what followed had driven it completely from her memory. She had kneeled to peer under her bed. She remembered seeing the giant eye immediately lunge for her though it was actually several minutes while her ball shivered and the scratching continued. Then there was a sticky-sounding crack and then a powerful eye-watering stench of putrefaction hit her nose, making her gasp involuntarily. That was when she saw the orange glow of a giant eye amidst a tangle of black legs.

It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me! she told herself. Just because it came from under her bed didn't mean she was the one who brought it! It had to have snuck under there when no one was looking. She shouldn't be blamed. It wasn't her!

She came to a sudden stop and screamed when something huge bounded in front of her. It curled its body toward her, lips bared over sharp teeth, staring straight at her with bright green eyes. It was a giant wolf with a coat that gleamed silver and white.

"And what have we here?" the wolf spoke, pacing slowly around the girl. The voice was female, high and clear like water droplets in a still pool. "A child of the forest? Daughter of the Great Deku Tree? Hm. How did you get so far from your home, little one?"

"P-P-Please," squeaked Fado, trying desperately not to cry. "Please don't eat me, Mr. Wolf."

"Mister?" the wolf said with indignance. "Were I a more capricious wolf, I would eat you on the spot for such an offense. As it were, you have a lot more to be sorry for than wounding my pride." She suddenly turned her head over Fado's shoulder. A flapping of great feathered wings heralded the arrival of a giant owl clutching a knapsack in its beak. He landed on the ground and dropped the sack.

Fado recognized the sack immediately. "Hey!" she cried, "That's mine!" She moved forward to take it, but then the wolf snapped her jaws at her and snarled so fiercely that she fell into meek silence. When the wolf was satisfied, she turned to the owl and spoke, "Kaepora, this is the evil thing which the trees have sensed?"

"It could be no other, Lady Faron," replied the owl in a deep voice. "Look." He took a claw and opened the sack. From within the folds emerged something that was pink and purple like Fado's ball except that it was no longer round but fleshy and gooey. It was split at the top, strings of slime bridging the two halves, and a repugnant smell came from it.

Upon seeing it, the guardian wolf growled and her growl only grew louder until she suddenly wheeled on Fado and barked, "Do you know what that is?"

She quickly shook her head. "N-n..."

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS?!" Without waiting for her to answer, the wolf snatched her by her tunic and swung her in front of the disgusting blob. Fado whimpered as she tried to back away from it, but the wolf blocked her. Faron growled in a low tone in the Kokiri's ear, "That, you foolish girl, is the egg of a Gohma. A vile creature which devours all in its path then lays eggs, which produce more Gohmas, which then consumes until nothing is left. You, foolish, selfish Fado, have taken in a monster, which shall be the doom of the whole forest if something is not done soon." She turned to the egg and nodded to it. "The cloth that covers it..."

The owl nodded, "Yes, milady, it is no mere cloth." Using his claw, he rolled it over until a symbol was visible on the other side: blue lines representing a bird with outstretched wings. "The shawl of the goddess, Hylia. It was used to shield the malevolent aura cast by this egg; otherwise, it would have never made it into the wood."

"Had this fool," the she-wolf spat, tossing her head at Fado, "obeyed the law and stayed away from the boundaries of the wood, the egg would have never made it inside no matter how clever its guise. And where is her guardian? She plays a role in this, too, for if she had been watchful, she could have curbed this girl's foolish impulse."

The owl dropped his head. "You speak truly, but alas, the deed has been done, and now all that remains is what we do about this catastrophe."

Faron made to speak but was interrupted when a ball of blue light entered the glade and made a beeline for her. The fairy paused before her and exclaimed breathlessly, "Oh, Lady Faron, I am glad I found you! Please, you must make haste. The Great Deku Tree is in a frenzy. Something's wrong with him."

"It's worse than I feared," said Lady Faron, looking skyward. "If I know that stubborn, old fool, he has attempted to suppress the monster himself for fear of upsetting his children. If he has lost control of himself, it may already be too late. Still," she continued, interrupting Navi who had given a cry of protest, "we cannot allow that monster to run unchecked."

Kaepora flapped his wings and pranced as if readying himself for flight. "What do you propose we do?"

"We call upon him who is chosen," the silver wolf replied, "for this is not the fruit of idle mischief. Dark forces are at work here, twisting events to bring about their wicked designs. Now is the time for the goddess's champion to heed the call of destiny." She picked up a fallen branch from the ground with her paw and bit into it with a crunch. Then with a great wrench, she pulled it away, revealing a tooth protruding from the bark. Golden blood flowed from its root down the length of it. Before the blood touched the bark, the tooth began to glow. Then it stretched, its edges flattening to a keenness that sliced the branch in two. On the other end of the tooth, the roots stretched and twisted around each other, branching in three directions, two of which stopped shortly while the middle stretched longer. Soon it was formed into a hilt and guard of a sword, all of which gleamed like the whitest pearl. Faron scooped up the sword in her mouth and turned to Kaepora. "Quickly, take this blade to the goddess's chosen. He will need it for the trials ahead."

Kaepora obediently took the blade in his claw. "And how will I know him?" he asked.

"You will know him for he is the only Kokiri without a fairy," Faron answered. She turned to the newly arrived fairy and said, "Navi, go with him. Once you find this boy, you will accompany him on this quest, for the road will be harsh, and he will need the wise guidance of one who is close to the Great Tree's own."

Navi was startled by this charge, but as she did not dare to argue, she bowed instead and murmured, "As you will it, Lady Faron."

The great wolf nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Now go. Fly with speed for there isn't much time. Go. GO!"

The owl and the fairy sped away. When they had gone, Faron turned to Fado, who had been listening with horrified awe. Seeing the wolf taking interest in her again, she began to tremble and whimper once more.

"Now all that remains," said Faron in a dangerously soft voice, "is to think of an appropriate punishment for your foolishness..."