Elementary Library

The Red Onion and The Garlic

Once upon a time, in a small village in Indonesia, there lived a kind girl named Bawang Putih (Garlic) and her mean stepsister, Bawang Merah (Red Onion). Bawang Putih’s mother had passed away, and she was left to live with her stepmother and stepsister. The stepmother was very cruel to Bawang Putih and made her do all the hard work at home. Bawang Merah, her stepsister, was spoiled and lazy. She never helped around the house and always made fun of Bawang Putih. Bawang Merah’s mother treated her daughter like a queen and told Bawang Putih to do all the chores, like cooking, cleaning, and washing the clothes. One day, Bawang Putih went to the forest to gather some herbs. While she was walking through the woods, she met a kind old woman. The old woman smiled and said, “You are a very kind girl. I see that you work hard and treat others well. I want to give you a gift.” The old woman handed Bawang Putih a beautiful magical fish. “Take care of this fish, and it will reward you with something special,” said the old woman. Bawang Putih thanked the woman and took the fish back home. When she returned, her stepmother and stepsister were very curious. “What do you have there?” asked Bawang Merah. “It’s just a fish,” said Bawang Putih. But when Bawang Putih cooked the fish, it magically turned into gold! The fish had granted her a wonderful gift. Bawang Merah and her mother were greedy. They wanted the same gift for themselves. So, the next day, Bawang Merah went into the forest and found the old woman. The old woman gave her a magical fish too, but warned her, “Be careful with the fish. It will give you a gift, but only if you treat it well.” Bawang Merah didn’t listen to the old woman’s advice. She was impatient and angry. She didn’t care about being kind. When she cooked the fish, instead of turning into gold, it turned into a pile of stones. Bawang Merah became very angry and upset. When she returned home, her stepmother yelled at her. “What did you do wrong? Why didn’t you get gold like Bawang Putih?”