Bawang Putih and Bawang Merah

The sky was cloudy when Bawang Putih went home from her father’s funeral. Bawang Merah and her stepmother were waiting in the house.
Mother : “What took you so long?”

Bawang Putih : “I’m sorry, Mother. I was talking to father.”

Mother : “Talking? You were talking to a dead man?! What an ignorant girl! Go cook us some dinner!

Bawang Merah : “Don’t take too long, sweetie.”

Bawang Putih was a very kind girl. She would do anything to please stepmother and stepsister, even though it made her exhausted sometimes. She didn’t want to live on her house alone.

Bawang Putih : “Dinner’s ready, Mother.”

Her stepmother hurried and headed into the kitchen, followed by her stepsister. Bawang Putih did not eat right away as she thought that she must clean herself up. After the whole day helping in her father’s funeral, she felt that her body was sweating and might cause unpleasant odor.

Bawang Putih loved her stepmother. However, her stepmother didn’t seem to love her. Neither did her stepsister, Bawang Merah. Everyday, they were just sitting around, eating, and going around the city.

Mother : “You duty is stay at home. Guard the house, clean the house, take care of the house, and cook delicious meals.”

Bawang Putih : “But, Mother … “

Mother : “No ‘but’. You have to obey my rule.”

Since then, Bawang Putih never came out of the house except when she washed the clothes. There were so many work she had to do, as if it never would end.

Early in the morning, soon as she woke up, Bawang Putih filled the water tank for her stepmother and Bawang Merah to bath. Then, she swept and cleaned the floor, cooked breakfast, and then went to the river to wash the clothes.

If her stepmother found no water to bathing, no breakfast, or that the house was still messy, she would become so angry. Bawang Putih didn’t want that to happen. She wanted her stepmother to feel at home.

One day, after washing the clothes, Bawang Putih rushed back home. She was petrified.

Mother : “What happen?”

Bawang Putih : “I’m…sorry, Mother.”

Mother : “Sorry for what? What’s wrong? What have you done?”

Bawang Putih : “I’m sorry, Mother. Your golden dress drifted away when I was about to wash it.”

Mother : “What?! Go find it!! Now!!”

Bawang Putih just kept silent and obeyed her stepmother. Without saying any words, she went out to find her stepmother’s dress. In fact, she hadn’t had her breakfast yet. She was so hungry.

Bawang Putih : “Oh, God, where would I find it?”

Shepherd : “What are you looking for, young lady?”

Bawang Putih : “A dress, Sir. Did you see a golden dress drifting along the river?”

Shepherd : “Oh…yes, I saw it. Try to go that way, young lady. Maybe the dress wasn’t carried away too far from here.”

After spending a day searching, Bawang Putih finally arrived at the upper course of the river. Yet there was no sign of her stepmother’s dress. As the day was getting dark, she was looking for a shelter. She saw a small hut in the river bank.

Bawang Putih : “Hopefully, the owner would let me in.”

Grandmother : “Who is it? Come in! The door is unlocked.”

Feeling a bit scared, Bawang Putih opened the door. She saw an old lady eating alone on very simple table alone. The old lady looked spooky.

Bawang Putih : “Ohh…could it be…could it be a witch?”

Grandmother : “Who are you?”

Bawang Putih : “I’m … I’m Bawang Putih, Granny. It’s late and I need shelter.

Then, Bawang Putih told the story that led her to the old lady’s hut.
The old lady smiled. All of her teeth looked black.

Bawang Putih : “Maybe she never brushed her teeth.”

Grandmother : “What a coincidence. I found the golden dress at the river bank this afternoon.”

Hearing the explanation, Bawang Putih felt so relieved.

Grandmother : “Alright, you may stay here tonight, then. But you better have your dinner with me first.”

Bawang Putih smiled as she accepted the old lady’s offer. Being a little disgusted by the indecent meal, Bawang Putih yet ate all of the food as she was so hungry.
As a sign of gratitude, Bawang Putih cleaned all of the old lady’s dining and kitchen sets. Then, she fell asleep until the morning sun brightly shone.

Bawang Putih : “I’m sorry, Granny. I woke up late.”

Grandmother : “It’s okay. You slept so tight. I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”

On the same day, the old lady and Bawang Putih made an agreement. The old lady would returned the dress in one condition. Bawang Putih must accompany her for a week.

Bawang Putih was truly a diligent girl. She spent her week in the old lady’s house, doing the work as she usually did. The old lady was very pleased. A week had passed very quickly.

Grandmother : “Bawang Putih, you’re a nice girl. Thank you for staying with me.”

Bawang Putih : “Thank you, it’s also very nice of you giving me shelter to stay.”

Grandmother : “As a reward, besides going back home with your stepmother;s dress, you may also choose one of these pumpkins.

Bawang Putih was startled when she was asked to choose. She felt there was nothing special of what she had done in the old lady’s house. No reward was needed. So, Bawang Putih politely declined.

Grandmother : “You have to pick one of these two pumpkins, my dear.”

After careful thought, Bawang Putih finally picked the smaller one.

Grandmother : “Why did you choose the small one?”

Bawang Putih : “Because I’m afraid I won’tbe able to carry the big one, Granny.”

Her explanation made the old lady smile. After that, Bawang Putih said goodbye.
What happen to the pumpkin when Bawang Putih arrived home? It was really surprising. The pumpkin was filled with gold and jewelleries.

Mother : “Where did you get these things?”

Bawang Putih : “From the old lady near the river bank, Mother.”

The stepmother couldn’t stop smiling and tried on all the jewelleries. And so did Bawang Merah. The shiny jewelleries made the stepmother greedy. Secretly, she made a plan for Bawang Merah.

Mother : “So, how is it, dear? Do you want to do something to get more golds and diamonds?”

Apparently, the stepmother and Bawang Merah conspired to make the same scenario as what happen to Bawang Putih. Bawang Merah pretended to wash the clothes and let a piece of cloth drift down the river.
Bawang Merah tried to search for her cloth up the upper course of the river and met the old lady just like Bawang Putih did.

Bawang Merah : “Excuse me, Granny. Do you see a red cloth drifting down the river?”

The old lady nodded. Just like Bawang Putih experienced, Bawang Merah was asked to stay with the old lady for a week.

For a week, Bawang Merah helped the old lady with grudges. Consequently, she did the work carelessly. The old lady concluded that Bawang Merah was a lazy girl. Before Bawang Merah went home, the old lady gave her a choice to pick the two pumpkins for her reward. Bawang Merah choose the big pumpkin because she thought the bigger pumpkin would be filled with more jewelries.
When she got home, she opened the pumpkin. Do you know what’s in it? It turned out that the pumpkin was filled with small poisonous creatures such as snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and so on.

Since then, the stepmother and Bawang Merah realized that what they had done to Bawang Putih was wrong. Bawang Putih was very pleased. Now, all works were done together to make everything easier.