Long time ago there was a man who had two wives, and each wife had their own daughter. The daughters were Bawang Merah or onion and Bawang Putih or garlic. The father died attacked by a tiger when he hunted for a deer. Not long after his death, Bawang Putih’s mother also passed away due to sickness. Bawang Merah and her mother took over the charge of the household. However they treated Bawang Putih badly as their house maid servant.

One day when Bawang Putih went to the river nearby the house to wash the cloths she found a pond with a live fish inside. She became startled when suddenly the fish spoke to her like human.

“Don’t be afraid my dear,” said the fish tenderly, “I’m your mother. I’m here to accompany you and make you comfort.”

Bawang Putih was very happy and often went there afterwards to visit the fish just to talk and share her suffers.

Seeing Bawang Putih stayed longer at the river recently, Bawang Merah secretly followed her to the river and witnessed Bawang Putih talking to the fish after she finished washing the cloths.

“So this is why she stays here longer than she always did before,” thought Bawang Merah.

Soon after Bawang Putih left, Bawang Merah caught the fish and brought it home. She then cooked the fish and served it on the table for dinner. After they finished eating, she told her mother where she got the fish loudly so Bawang Putih could hear her from the kitchen. Bawang Putih was very shocked. She gathered the fish bones and buried them underneath a tree in the forest.

The next day when she visited the grave, she was amazed with the sudden appearance of a swing above the grave, hanged over a branch of the tree. When she sat on the swing and started singing, the swing magically swung back and forth. She continued to visit the grave and sat on the swing to sing the days after.

One day, the prince of neighboring kingdom heard her singing while he was on hunting. But when he approached the sound, Bawang Putih quickly left home. He ordered his guards to find the singing girl. Finally they found the house and visited the family.

Knowing that it was a prince who visited her house, Bawang Merah’s mother ordered Bawang Putih to stay at the kitchen. She said to the prince that the girl who he heard singing beautifully in the forest was her daughter, Bawang Merah.

But when the prince requested to show how she sings on the swing, that magical swing didn’t move. Angrily the prince urged Bawang Merah’s mother to tell him the truth. She could no longer hide the existence of Bawang Putih before the prince. She confessed that it was Bawang Putih.

After Bawang Putih proved that she could make the swing move with her singing sound, the prince asked her to marry him. Gladly she agreed and they lived happily ever after.

(Javanese Folk Tale, Malay Folk Tale)