Bawang Merah Bawang Putih

English Version

Retold by Tsuraya Yahya 

Once upon a time, lived a happy family, a mother, a father and a daughter named Bawang Putih. The father was an ordinary merchant. Bawang Putih was a beautiful girl. She was also pleasant and big-hearted. She always loved to help her parents at home.

Sadly, one day the mother fell very ill and she died. Bawang Putih and her father were grieving over the loss of their beloved mother and wife.

In the same village, there also lived a widow and her daughter, Bawang Merah. Upon Bawang Putih’s grief, the widow often stopped by just to talk with Bawang Putih and to give her company. She often brought some foods for Bawang Putih and her father. She also sometimes helped Bawang Putih cleaning up her house. The widow and her daughter were very kind to the grieving father and daughter.  Seeing her tenderness toward her daughter, the father asked for Bawang Putih’s blessing to marry the widow. Finally, the father married the widow.

At the beginning, the widow, now stepmother, was very kind to Bawang Putih. She treated her so kindly. Time had passed. The stepmother and step sister began to show their true self. They were very mean to Bawang Putih. Her stepmother always scolded her. She had to do all the chores. It would even worse when the father was away from home to do the trading while Bawang Merah and her mother never did anything at home. They were bone idle. However, she never told his father the way her stepmother and stepsister treated her.

One day, another misfortune hit Bawang Putih. Her father was sick and he passed away. Her stepmother and stepsister treated her even worse after her father died. Bawang Putih had to do all the hard work like cooking, cleaning the house, washing the clothes, and many more. She hardly took a rest.

One morning, Bawang Putih walked down the path to the river. She washed all the clothes there like she always did almost everyday. While she was washing the clothes, she was unnoticed that one dress was carried away by the stream. When she was realized, the dress had been far carried. Even worse, it was her stepmother’s favorite dress. She walked along the river to search forthe dress. Still, she couldn’t find it.

Fearfully, she went back home and faced her stepmother. She told her that one of the clothes was carried away in the river. Her stepmother was furious.

“How dare you lose my best dress! Do you know how much it costs?” the stepmother yelled.

“Go back to the river and find my dress! Don’t ever come back without it!” the stepmother commanded.

Bawang Putih went back to the river. She walked along the river searching for her stepmother’s dress. It was fruitless. She couldn’t find it anywhere. She thought that the dress must have been carried far away downstream. Then, she saw a man, a hunter, sitting by the river. He was filling up his water supply. She went toward the hunter.

“Excuse me, Sir,” she said.

“Young lady. What are you doing here in this late afternoon?” asked the hunter.

“I’m looking for a dress. Have you seen it floating in the river around here?” she asked.

“I didn’t see any dress around here. It might be carried downstream,” he answered.

“Well then. Thank you,” she said gloomily.

Bawang Putting keep searching. She didn’t realize that it was getting dark. The night was falling and she couldn't go home without her stepmother's dress. From distance, she saw a hut. She walked toward the hut and knocked on the door. An answer came from the inside of the hut, and an old woman opened the door. The old woman was puzzled to find a girl by her door.

“Who are you?” asked the old woman.

“I’m Bawang Putih. I was looking for my mother’s dress. It was carried away in the river, but it’s too late to go back home. It’s getting darker outside. Can I stay here just for a night?” Bawang Putih pleaded.

“Sure. You can stay here tonight,” said the woman kind-heartedly.

So, Bawang Putih stayed with the old woman that night.

“You said that you were looking for a dress. How does it look like?” asked the old woman.

“It is a long sleeve, and it is red. Have you seen it?” asked Bawang Putih.

“I think I did. I was taking some water from the river this afternoon, and I saw a red dress stuck on the rocks by the river,” told the old woman.

The old woman showed Bawang Putih the dress she found. Upon seeing it, Bawang Putih was gleeful. Eventually, she found the dress and could go home.

“Can I have that dress back?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course. But, I have one condition,” said the old woman, “You have to stay with me for a week to give me company.”

The old woman told Bawang Putih that it’s been a long time since she had someone to talk to. She had lived alone for many years. Her husband died years ago, and she had no child. Bawang Putih felt pity at the old woman. She seemed lonely. So, she agreed to accompany the old woman for a week.

Bawang Putih was fond of staying with the old woman. She was very kind to her, not like her stepmother. Bawang Putih was also very helpful. She was always eager to help the old woman doing the household. She cleaned up the house and helped the old woman cooking. The old woman was also grateful to have Bawang Putih staying with her.

A week passed. The old woman fulfilled her promise to return the red dress to Bawang Putih. Bawang Putih received it joyfully. She was ready to go home. To show her gratitude to Bawang Putih, the old woman offered her to choose one pumpkin in her kitchen. One pumpkin was big and the other was small.

“You don’t have to give me anything. I love staying with you this past week,” said Bawah Putih.

“It’s fine. You’ve given a company. You’re very kind and you helped me so much this past week,” replied the old woman.

“All right then. I’ll just take the small one. The big one would be too heavy for me to carry. Thank you,” said Bawang Putih.

Bawang Putih bid goodbye and left the old woman’s hut. Finally, she arrived back home. She saw her stepmother, and she gave the dress to her. Her stepmother took it without even said thank.

Soon, Bawang Putih went to the kitchen. She took a knife and sliced the pumpkin in half. She was astonished. Inside the pumpkin, she found many jewels. Bawang Merah and her mother was peeking out the door. They couldn’t believe what they saw. They wandered how Bawang Putih got that magic pumpkin. The stepmother interrogated her.

“Where did you get that pumpkin?” stepmother demanded.

“It was a gift,” she stammered.

“Who gave it to you?” she asked forcefully.

Bawang Putih told her stepmother the whole story, how she met the old woman, lived with her, and the old woman gave her that pumpkin.

In the next morning, the stepmother sent Bawang Merah to the old woman’s hut. Before Bawang Merah left, her mother told her to take the biggest pumpkin. Bawang Merah set off to the old woman’s house.

As it planned, Bawang Merah stayed with the old woman for a week. Unlike Bawang Putih, Bawang Merah was very lazy. She was really unhelpful. She spent most of her time doing nothing. When she eventually did something, she did it reluctantly and half-heartedly. She didn’t even did it right.

A week passed. It was time for Bawang Merah to go home. The old woman told that she could go home now since she had stayed for a week.

“Aren’t you supposed to give me a pumpkin?” she demanded.

The old woman led her to the kicthen and told her to choose the pumpkin. Without hesitation, she took the big pumpkin. That was what her mother told to choose. They believed that the big pumpkin must have contained more jewels.

Bawang Merah arrived back home. Her mother excitedly welcomed her and the pumpkin she brought. They took it to the kitchen. Before they cut the pumpkin, they sent Bawang Putih out of the house. They were worried that Bawang Putih would want their jewels because they have a bigger pumpkin. The mother took a knife and cut the pumpkin. As soon as the pumpkin was sliced in half, Bawang Merah and her mother were terrified. Instead of jewels, the pumpkin contained poisonous snakes, reptiles, and insects. They screamed frantically and tried to flee from the kitchen. Unfortunately, it was too late. The savage reptiles and insects attacked them swiftly. They died.

After her stepmother and Bawang Merah died, Bawang Putih lived alone in her house. But, she never felt lonely. Her neighbors were very friendly and kind to her because Bawang Putih was also kind to them. She lived peacefully in her village. She also often visited the old woman. She brought her some food and helped around her hut.

Moral of the story:

All the kindness you give will find its way back to you, and so does evil things you do.