PRINCESS RUTO
Items
Princess Ruto's Letter Location
Find the bottle underwater at Lake Hylia near the tunnel to Zora’s Domain. Win the Silver Scale so you can reach it, then show the bottled letter to King Zora. You do not need a separate empty bottle to collect it.
Updated 2026-11-14
Location and requirements
| Step | Action | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zora’s Domain | Win the waterfall diving game | Silver Scale | 2 publishers · Zelda Wiki / Zelda Dungeon |
| Lake Hylia | Dive by the underwater tunnel from Zora’s Domain | Bottle containing the letter | 2 publishers |
| King Zora | Show the bottled letter while facing him | The king moves and the bottle becomes available empty | 2 publishers |
The letter is already inside the bottle you find. A separate empty bottle is not a prerequisite. The bottle can later hold the fish used to enter Lord Jabu-Jabu. Bottle collection order varies with the player’s route, so the returned bottle is not labeled the first bottle in this guide.
What the letter says
Both wiki transcriptions ask the finder for help inside Lord Jabu-Jabu and ask that Ruto’s father not be told. Zelda Wiki’s version is a longer plea; Zelda Dungeon prints a shorter note. These are paraphrases of their transcriptions, not a merged verbatim script.
| Publisher | Meaning of its text | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Zelda Wiki | A plea from a trapped Ruto, with her royal signature and an emphatic postscript about her father | 1 source |
| Zelda Dungeon | A shorter request to meet her inside the belly, signed Ruto, with a shorter postscript | 1 source |
Who wrote it?
The letter is signed Ruto. The older N64/3DS dialogue printed by Zelda Wiki and Zelda Dungeon has her deny knowing about it. Fandom’s remake discussion says she reacts to learning that Link showed her father the note. That remake reaction is a single-source account. The signature, the older denial, and the reported new reaction remain separate observations.
When King Zora does not respond
| Check | What to do | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Letter not collected | Use the Silver Scale to dive for the bottle at Lake Hylia | 2 publishers |
| Wrong item | Present the bottled letter to King Zora | 2 publishers |
| Letter already delivered | Check whether the path behind the king is already open and the bottle is empty | 2 publishers |
Once the king has moved, take a fish in a bottle to the fountain. Zelda Dungeon’s remake walkthrough shows fish in the shallow water of Zora Domain. The bottle and letter are one pickup; buying an extra bottle will not replace the missing quest step.
Questions people ask
Where is Ruto’s letter?
In a bottle underwater at Lake Hylia, near the tunnel to Zora’s Domain. Use the Silver Scale to reach it.
Do I need an empty bottle first?
No. The letter comes in the bottle you collect from the lake.
What does the letter do?
Show it to King Zora. He reads it and moves aside so Link can reach the fountain; the bottle is then available empty.
What does it say?
It asks for help inside Lord Jabu-Jabu and asks the finder not to tell Ruto’s father. The two wiki transcriptions use different wording, so this page summarizes them separately.
Does Ruto admit writing it?
The older dialogue has her deny knowledge of it. One Fandom account describes a different reaction in the remake and is labeled as one source.
Sources
- Zelda Wiki — Bottled Letter — checked 2026-11-14
- Zelda Wiki — Ruto — checked 2026-11-14
- Zelda Dungeon — Ruto — checked 2026-11-14
- Zelda Dungeon — remake route — checked 2026-11-14
- Fandom — Ruto remake reaction — checked 2026-11-14