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.

Malin Kundang

A Folktale from West Sumatra

Retold by Tsuraya Yahya

Once upon a time, in a village called Pantai Pasir Angin, lived a woman named Mande Rubayah. She was a widow. Her husband sailed to the city to find a better job, but he never came back. She had a son named Malin Kundang. Malin Kundang was the only one she had after her husband died. She loved her son so much. Mande Rubayah was so poor. She just sold cakes around the village for a living.

One day, Malin Kundang was severely sick. Mande Rubayah took care of him. Finally, Malin recovered from his serious illness. His mother loved him even more.

Years passed. Malin Kundang grew up. He has seen his mother worked so hard, but it was never enough to afford both their life. When a ship docked in his village, Malin decided to join that ship and sailed to the city. He wanted to find a better job. He talked to his mother about his plan.

“Mother, there is a ship sailing to the city. I will take that ship and find a job in the city, so we can have a better life.”

Her mother did not allow him to go.

“But son, the city is far away on the other island. What if something bad happens to you on that journey?” Mother said.

“Don’t worry mother. I can take care of myself. I’ll be fine,” Malin assured his mother.

Eventually, Mande Rubayah allowed Malin Kundang to go. She provided him with some food for his journey. The next day, Malin set off, leaving his village and his mother.

Days and months passed. Mande Rubayah did not hear anything about Malin Kundang. She was so worried. She wondered about Malin’s whereabout. She hoped that nothing bad happened to his son. She came to the dock almost everyday and asked every ship crews if they knew about Malin Kundang. Unfortunately, no one had ever heard about him.

Years had passed. Malin’s mother was getting older and grew weaker. Still, she had not got any news about her son, Malin Kundang. Until one day, she met the captain who took Malin on his ship. The captain told Mande Rubayah that his son had become rich, and he married a young rich beautiful woman. Mande Rubayah was very happy to hear it. However, months after Mande Rubayah heard news about Malin, Malin did not come back to his village.