The Young Punk's Tragedy

The carpenter was a very strict father who insisted that his son follow in his footsteps. The young punk probably did not care for this work, and was undoubtedly beaten by his father on several occasions for disobedience. His sister was going to learn cucco handling, probably from a family member, as it was most likely a skill passed down by the women in the family, but was unable to due to her allergy. However, it caught the attention of the young punk, and he began learning it in her place. This undoubtedly infuriated his father, and so he most likely studied in secret. In all this time, his mother, the apothecary, was away doing field research. With an abusive father and a workaholic mother who was never there, studying cucco breeding was probably his only respite.

 

It likely took years of research, but eventually the young punk was successful in breeding a special cucco -- a domesticated blue cucco that would only crow for him. Representing a triumph and a proof of mastery in his field, he probably took Cojiro to his father to show him what a success he had become, undoubtedly hopeful that it would at long last earn his father's respect and love. It didn't. His father became furious at the deception and most likely assaulted him. That was his breaking point -- the young punk left their home, for good, and left Cojiro in the care of his sister, since he would no longer be able to care for him. His father could not have cared less about his leaving, and once he was through tearing up his research notes, he officially disowned his son.

 

The young punk's sister was heartbroken by these events, and would sneak her brother food. They often met by the tree at the front of the village at night, so as not to be discovered by their father. She pleaded with him to come home, but he refused. After what was probably weeks of effort, she managed to piece her brother's notes back together. She brought them to him, hoping it would please him to have them returned, and possibly convince him to return home. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. The notes only represented failure to him now. He slapped the notes out of his sister's hands and told her to never see him again. She gathered the notes together and left. Despite her terrible allergy, she put those notes to use herself, trying to pick up where her brother had left off.

 

After some years had passed, the young punk's mother finally returned home. When she learned of what had transpired, she went to plead with her son to come home. He refused, of course. He had no desire to see either of his disgusting parents again. She acknowledged her son's wishes, but told him the door would be open if he ever changed his mind.

 

Perhaps he thought he could mend things with his mother, or perhaps he missed his sister, or perhaps he simply wished to see Cojiro again, but one night he decided to return home. When he walked in, he saw his mother sitting at her desk, working. This sent him into a rage, and he and his mother immediately began fighting. He insulted her, saying that for all her failings as a mother, she still was not a great apothecary, as she would not venture into the forest for its rare mushrooms. She told him of the legends, but he called her a coward. He told her he would succeed where she had failed and return with a forest mushroom. She asked him not to be so foolish, but his mind was set. As he walked out, he saw his father's saw resting against the wall. He grabbed it, claiming it as his birthright, and walked out.

 

He was still furious when he arrived in the forest, and he walked in a blind rage for a while before he calmed down. By then, it was too late -- he was already lost. He spent some time looking for a mushroom, then attempted to find his way out of the woods. After hours of fruitless searching, he slumped down against a stump, exhausted. He reflected on everything he had done. He thought about the pain he had caused his sister. He questioned his motives for coming into the forest. He regretted the terrible things he had said to his mother. Perhaps it was the realization that he was going to die finally setting in, but ultimately, all he wanted was to set things right.

 

That's when Link showed up with Cojiro. Hearing that crow again after so many years must have been a great relief in that final hour. Moved by Link's kindness, and convinced of his own death, he gave the mushroom he had found to him, asking him to give it to his mother. Link did as he was asked, and the apothecary immediately set about making a potion with it to save her son from the effects of the forest. When Link returned, however, the young punk was gone, leaving his father's saw behind. In the end, the young punk succumbed to the power of the forest and became one of its many Stalfos. His father never knew, and probably wouldn't have cared if he did. His mother knew what had happened to him, but almost certainly withheld the information from his sister in order to protect her. She, at least, deserved to be happy. And she was -- after seven long years of work, she was finally triumphant in her breeding endeavors, being the first to breed a hypoallergenic cucco. Unfortunately, her brother would never share in this triumph with her.

 

It's a tragic tale, and one that most players never even realize is there.