The Legend Of Toar And Limimuut

There was once a big rock in the middle of the ocean. It was so big that it rose above the surface of the water. Furthermore, it was not an ordinary rock. When the sun shone on it, it perspired and out of this perspiration was born a pretty little girl called Limimuut. The story does not tell in what way she grew up, but certainly she was a wonder-child, living in wonderful circumstances and in a time rich in wonders. The story only tells us that, when she was grown up, she felt very lonely.

One day, when she was standing on the top of the rock, she gazed with eyes full of amazement at the vast ocean and at the big, undulating waves. As she stood there, she suddenly caught sight of a crow, holding in its beak a dry branch and continously circling the spot where she stood. Limimuut became curious and wondered where the bird had come from and where it had found the branch. Suddenly the bird spoke to here: “I have carried it from Taoere.” Great was the girl’s surprise on finding that the bird could read read her thoughts and could speak her language. Then she asked: “I am anxious to go to that land. Will you take me there?”

The bird agreed to do so, and away they flew to reach Taoere, for Limimuut herself could fly too.

On arriving there, they found a small piece of land, not larger than a sieve, just emerging above the surface of the sea, one of the many islands in the watery vastness. The crow stopped flying and said: “We are at our destination. This is the land where I found the branch; it bears the name of Taoere.” Then he flew away, leaving Limimuut once again alone.

“Alone!” she sighed. “Again alone, and all around is water.”

Then an idea struck her. As if directed by an invisible hand, she took a small amoount of soil, just as much as she could hold in her hand. She flew to the barren rock from which she had come and scattered the soil on the rock. A strange thing happened. This small amount of soil grew into a big piece of land. On the ninth day, it stopped growng, for the work was complete.

As Lilimuut looked around, she realised that the ground was barren. She floew again to Taoere and took another handful of soil. On returning home, she again scattered the soil on the barren groun. Something green began to emerge from the land, and this became the vegetation that we have on our earth today. But Limimuut was not yet satisfied. She made a mountain in the southern part of the land. When this had risen high enough, she climbed till she reached the top. There another strange thing occurred; she became pregnant while she was standing there looking towards the west. A few months later, a child was born to her, a healthy son to whom she gave the name Toar.

Years went by and Toar grew up into a handsome young man. The mother thought that the time had come for him to choose a wife. But where could he find a woman to marry? Again the mother had in idea.

“Son,” she said to him, “roam the world until you find a wife.”

The son obeyed his mother’s instructions and set off for the other part of the ocean. He travelled a long distance but still could find no one fit to be his wife. Then he returned home, telling his mother that he had not been successful in finding a woman he could marry.

“Well,” replied his mother, “cut a piece of cane as long as I am tall and then go to the right. I myself shall go to the left. If on your way you encounter a woman carrying a piece of cane longer than yours, take her as your wife.”

Toar once again obeyed, and so they parted. The son went to the right and the mother to the left, roving the earth which in those days was not as big as nowadays. In the end, as Toar was on his way, he saw a woman approaching him. He put out his stick and measured the cane she was carrying. Seeing that hers was longer than his, he assumed that she was the woman he had been looking for all the time. He made her his wife and took her home. Little did he suspect that it was his mother he had married. He thought only about the message concerning the length of the stick. In actual fact, the cane had grown and had become longer and so had deceived him when he chose the woman to be his wife.

They returned to mountain built by Limimuut. There they lived happily together, Limimuut bearing children three times, but every time there were nine in number. These children lived peacefully with each other, sharing together all that their parents possessed, and this group of people became the ancestors of the people of Minahasa today.

*taken from "Folk Tales from Indonesia" by Aman, S.D.B.

Talaga Warna

retold by Renny Yaniar

Long, long ago there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled by a king. People called their king His Majesty Prabu. Prabu was a kind and wise king. No wonder if that country was prosperous. There’s no hunger in this kingdom.

It was a very happy condition. But it was a pity that Prabu and his queen hadn’t got any children. It made the royal couple very, very sad. Some old men and women who was respected by Prabu suggested the king to adopt a child. But Prabu and the queen didn’t agree. “No, thank you. But for us, our own daughter or son is better than adopted children.”

The queen was very sad. She often cried. That was why Prabu decided to go. He went to the jungle. There he prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a child. His dream came true. A few months later, the queen got pregnant. All people in the kingdom felt happy. They sent many presents to the palace to express their happiness.

Nine months later a princess was born. People sent their presents again as a gift to a little princess. This baby grew as a beautiful teenager then.

Prabu and Queen loved their daughter so much. They gave what ever she wanted. It made Princess a very spoiled girl. When her wish couldn’t be realized, she became very angry. She even said bad things often. A true princess wouldn’t do that. Even though the princess behaved badly, her parents loved her, so did the people in that kingdom.

Day by day, the princess grew more beautiful. No girls could compare with her. In a few days, Princess would be 17 years old. So, people of that kingdom went to palace. They brought many presents for her. Their presents gift were very beautiful. Prabu collected the presents. There were really many presents. Then Prabu stored them in a building. Some times he could take them to give to his people.

Prabu only took some gold and jewels. Then she brought them to the goldsmith. “Please make a beautiful necklace for my daughter,” said Prabu. “My pleasure, Your Majesty,” the goldsmith replied. The goldsmith worked with all his heart and his ability. He wanted to create the most beautiful necklace in the world because he loved his princess.
The birthday came. People gathered in the palace field. When Prabu and queen appeared, people welcomed them happily. Prabu and his wife waved to their beloved people.

Cheers were louder and louder when the princess appeared with her fabulous pretty face. Everybody admired her beauty. Prabu got up from his chair. A lady gave him a small and glamorous pillow. A wonderful necklace was on it. Prabu took that necklace. “My beloved daughter, today I give this necklace to you. This necklace is a gift from people in this country. They love you so much. They presented it for you to express their happiness, because you have growing to a woman. Please, wear this necklace,” said Prabu.

Princess accepted the necklace. She looked at the necklace in a glance. “I don’t want to accept it! It’s ugly!” shouted the princess. Then she threw the necklace. The beautiful necklace was broken. The gold and jewels were spread out on the floor

Everybody couldn’t say anything. They never thought that their beloved princess would do that cruel thing. Nobody spoke. In their silence people heard the queen crying. Every woman felt sad and began crying too. Then everybody was crying.

Then there was a miracle. Earth was crying. Suddenly, from the under ground, a spring emerged. It made a pool of water. The palace was getting full. Soon the place became a big lake. The lake sank all of the kingdom.

Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full as before. There is only a small lake now. People called the lake “Talaga Warna”. It is mean “Lake of Colour”. It’s located in Puncak, West Java. On a bright day, the lake is full of colour. So beautiful and amazing. These colors come from shadows of forest, plants, flowers, and sky around the lake. But some people said that the colours are from the princess’s necklace, which spreads at the bottom of the lake.

Sangkuriang

In the time when West Java was still thickly covered with woods and undergrowth and wonders existed, there reigned a king, named Raden Sungging Pebangkara. He was a good ruler and to convince himself of the welfare of his subjects, he used to visit them. But the thing he liked most was hunting in the forest.

It happened that in one of the forests the king often visited there lived a she-pig, actually a cursed goddess. One day, as it was very warm, she came out of her hiding place looking for water. There she saw a coconut-shell, filled with water. Glad to have found something and expecting it to be coconut-milk, she drank it at a draught, having no suspicions whatsoever that it was the King’s urine left there the day before when hunting. The consequence was very strange. She became pregnant. In a few months she gave birth to a very pretty girl. When the king was once again hunting in the forest, he saw the girl and, attracted by her beauty, he took her to his palace, called her Dayang Sumbi and treated her as his own daughter.

Time passed and Dayang Sumbi grew up into a fine young girl. She was fond of weaving and thus passed her time. One bright morning, as she was absorbed in weaving, her weaving-spool suddenly got loose. Before she could prevent it, it flew out of the window to the field below. It was out of her reach, as her room was about three stories high. Furthermore she was very tired and had no wish to descend the stairs to fetch the spool. Quite at ease, she mumbled: “Whoever is willing to help me pick up the spool, I’ll treat as my sister, if she is a girl. If he is a man, I’ll take him as my husband.” These words were overheard by a dog, called Tumang, who happened to come along. He immediately picked up the spool and brought it to Dayang Sumbi. Tumang was in fact a cursed god too, like the she-pig. Seeing the dog with the spool in his mouth, Dayang Sumbi fainted. The gods had decided her for her to undergo the same fate as her mother, the she-pig. She too become pregnant and a short time afterwards she gave birth to a strong healthy son, whom she called Sangkuriang.

Sangkuriang became a handsome young man, as time went by. Like his grandfather, he was fond of hunting in the forest and Tumang was his faithful friend when roaming the woods. He loved this creature very much; having no idea at all that it was his own father. One day while hunting, they came across a fat pig. Sangkuriang strung his bow and z-z-z-z-z-z-z! the arrow hissed towards the she-pig, and hit but did not kill her. Wounded, she vanished into the undergrowth.

“Come on, Tumang, run after her!” Sangkuriang shouted, eager to taste the pork. Tumang, however, did not move. Whatever Sangkuriang said to urge Tumang to pursue the pig, it left him unmoved. Sangkuriang lost his self control. In his anger he killed Tumang, cut up his flesh and took it home to his mother. She prepared a tasty dish of it and after the meal she asked:

“Sangkuriang, what kind of flesh is this? It is delicious!”

“This is Tumang’s, mother,” Sangkuriang responded. “I killed him, as he did not obey my command to pursue a fat pig.” For one moment Dayang Sumbi was speechless. Then in rage she took a spool and flung it at him. It struck his forehead and blood dropped out of the wound. This left later on a scar on the spot. Then Dayang Sumbi sent him away.

Deeply grieved, Sangkuriang left and wandered through the woods. He walked for years. Finally he returned to his native place, but did not recognize it any longer. There he stood, looking around him, all alone, musing about the past. At the end of a vast rice-field, which stretched in front of him, he noticed a house on stilts. Looking closely, he saw a young girl sitting at her weaving-loom. He approached her and, charmed by her beauty, he immediately proposed to her, unaware that she was his own mother. The girl looked at him and, noticing his good looks, she promised to marry him. For some time they loved each other tenderly, making plans for their wedding day, but one day she discovered the scar on his forehead.

“That wound!” she whispered, and at the moment she realized that he was no other than her own son who had come back to his village. After being left by Sangkuriang, Dayang Sumbi had been given eternal beauty by the gods, which was why she looked so young and Sangkuriang did not recognize her as his mother. She made efforts to make him understand that a marriage between them was impossible and withdrew her promise to marry him. But Sangkuriang refused to accept the truth and was determined to get his own way. Dayang Sumbi was very sad, as she was ashamed to reveal her secret.

“What is to be done?” she pondered. She had an idea and said to him: “All right then, you shall marry me only on condition that you fulfill a wish of mine. Dam up the Citarum River and build a big vessel, which we shall use after being married. But you have only one night to complete the work.” Sangkuriang agreed and started to work. Only at daybreak did he approach the end, in spite of his magic powers and his prayers to the gods for help. Noticing this, Dayang Sumbi got alarmed and hit upon another plan to prevent the marriage. She stretched the red woven veil which covered her head over the eastern side of the plain. Through her magic powers, red light spread over the landscape, giving the impression that the sun was rising, which meant that time was up for Sangkuriang. He was astonished.

“In vain!” he shouted in despair and at the same time, filled with rage; he kicked the vessel, which was almost finished, upside-down. Then he made for the south, for the Indian Ocean. He had not gone very far when the water of the lake rose and overflowed its banks, dragging everything in its way. Sangkuriang himself had no chance of escape and with all his workers he was driven away. Sometime later the lake dried up. The mountain of Tangkuban Prahu on the northern side of Bandung is thought to be the overturned vessel of Sangkuriang. In time it became covered with trees and the lake became the present fertile rice-fields around Bandung area, every year yielding great benefits for all the people.

The Mousedeer and the Dog

The farmer was happy to take the mousedeer home with him. It was not easy to catch the clever mousedeer, and since this time, he was able to do so, he surely would call a party, and asked his wife to cook the mousedeer and prepared it as a main dish.

The mousedeer knew that he would end up as a dish in the farmer's house, so he kept on thinking how to escape from the farmer's house. When the farmer was near to his house, the farmer's pet, the dog, who had been loyal to the farmer, quickly ran and greeted the farmer. The dog was happy as well to see his master could catch the cunning mousedeer.

The farmer put the mousedeer inside a cage in front of his house, and asked the dog to guard the mousedeer.

"No matter what you do, don't let him free!" told the farmer to the dog.

The dog promised to keep his eyes on the mousedeer and never let him go.

After the farmer left them both, the mousedeer whispered to the dog. "Hey, dog! Here! I want to talk to you!" said the mousedeer.

The dog glared at the mousedeer and replied, "I don't want to talk to you."

"Please don't be so mean to me..." said the mousedeer, "do you know why the farmer taking me here, to his house?"

"Of course," answered the dog, "my master caught you, and soon my master's wife will make you as a dish."

"Well, my friend, just as I thought! You git it all wrong!"

"What do you mean?" asked the dog suspiciously, "What do you mean I am wrong?"

"Do you know what your master's wife is doing now?"

"Yes, she is preparing stuffs to cook you..."

"No," answered the mousedeer, "She is not going to cook me, she is cooking for me..."

"WHAT?" the dog laughed. "That's impossible! I am sure my lady is going to cook you!"

"You see..." replied the mousedeer, "Your master invite me here in the first place to have a party for me. He was so proud to have me, the cleverest animal in this jungle, to visit his house today."

"No way!" said the dog, "If it is true, how come he put you inside the cage?"

"Huh? This cage? This cage is to protect me from anyone who wants to harm me and you, my friend, is asked to guard me." smiled the mousedeer to the dog.

The dog was upset. He believed what the mousedeer had told him. He felt jealous to the mousedeer. "It's not fair! After so many years, I worked for my master, never once he made a party for me." he growled. "But you! You're just a mousedeer, and sometimes you steal in my master's farm, and yet he still makes a party for you!"

"Yeah..." said the mousedeer, "After I think about it, it is not fair at all... You're the one who deserve more to be in this special place, instead of me. You're much more better than I am."

The mousedeer showed his 'sympathy'.

"I got an idea!" The mousedeer added, "why don't we change place? You can take my place and let me go home quietly so the farmer won't find out. I will let you sit and wait here in the cage, when the farmer comes here, he will see you, and not me, and when he can't find me, he won't want to have the party wasted, right? So he has no choice than to let you become the star of his party!"

The dog smiled. "Yeah, that's an excellent idea! Let's do that!"

And so the exchanged place. The dog opened the cage and let the mousedeer out. Afterward, the dog entered cage replacing the mousedeer. The mousedeer left the dog and ran hurriedly back to the jungle.

So, I think you already know what will happen next. Yup! When the farmer came back to see his mousedeer, he couldn't find any, instead he found his pet dog sitting in the cage. The farmer got so mad that he chased away the dog and did not allow the dog to return home before the poor dog could find the mousedeer.

The story will be continued with how the mousedeer escaped himself from the dog... See you! Hope you enjoy this wonderful fable.

The Mousedeer Stole the Cucumbers

The mousedeer is a famous character in Indonesian fables. It has so many series of the adventures of the mousedeer. Nowadays, the mousedeer is one of the endangered animals in Indonesia. It is called a mousedeer, because it looks like a deer, but it is the same size as a dog.

So this is the story...

Long ago in Java island, lived a famous animal, the mousedeer. The mousedeer was famous of his cleverness, that he could always escape from troubles with his bright minds. The mousedeer's favourite food was the cucumber. He loved to eat juicy cucumbers a lot, but the bad thing was he did not want to grow it himself, he liked to steal them from the farmers.

The farmers disliked the mousedeer very much, since every time he wanted to harvest his cucumbers, the mousedeer had eaten them that the farmer could not get as many as he wanted. So that morning, before the farmer set out to his farm, he made a plan to catch the mousedeer with his wife.

That night, the farmer and his wife made a scarecrow. When they had completed the scarecrow, the farmer put a lot of glue on the scarecrow's shirt and took it to the middle of the farm and put him there. This time, the farmer was sure, he was able to catch the naughty mousedeer.

Very early in the next morning, the mousedeer had already arrived in the farm. He was very surprised to see the farmer was already there. He did not know that it was only a scarecrow. So he was hiding behind the trees, and waited for the farmer to go away first from the farm before he came and took all the cucumbers he wanted. He waited for a long time, until he grew impatient. It was like the juicy cucumbers in th farm were calling his name to take them away with him. So he decided to come closer to the farm.

The more he looked at the 'farmer', the more he realized that it was not the farmer who stood there all along. It was just a scarecrow and did not move at all. The mousedeer was very angry for he was cheated. He approached the scarecrow and kicked the scarecrow. Remember, the farmer had already added some glue on the scarecrow's body that made it very sticky.

When the mousedeer kicked the scarecrow, he could not let his feet of the scarecrow's body. The mousedeer was panic. The harder he kicked, the stickier it got to his legs. Finally, the mousedeer was strapped to the scarecrow's body. He couldn't free himself. He cried and cried for help, but no one was there to help. When the farmer heard his cry, he quickly went to his farm and caught the mousedeer. No matter how the mousedeer begged for mercy and to let him go, the farmer refused to set him free.

So, that was how the farmer caught the mousedeer who was famous for his brain.

The Legend of Roro Jonggrang

Roro Jonggrang was a very beautiful princess from a Javanese kingdom, Prambanan Kingdom hundred years ago. Her famous beauty was known throughout the country, and princes from far and different land and kingdoms came to propose her. However, her beauty did not make her humble, instead she grew her arrogance even more. She refused all their proposal, and sometime in harsh as well. Many returned brokenhearted.

There was a famous prince by that era, Prince Bandung Bondowoso. He was famous by his strength, power, and good looking. He owned a big kingdom with thousand of soldiers. He too heard of Roro Jonggrang's amazing beauty that he set up to the kingdom to propose her.

Having heard that Prince Bondowoso was coming to marry her, Roro Jonggang grew worried. She disliked the idea of getting married, however, she too understood the consequence if she refused the proposal. She knew that Bondowoso had thousands of soldiers that could attack her kingdom if she disappointed him. So when Bondowoso arrived and proposed her, she was willing to accept it with one condition.

Bondowoso had to make her 1000 temples in one night time. If he failed, then Roro Jonggrang would not marry him. Now, Bondowoso was not only strong, he had thousands of men working for him, and not only men, he owned the power to control the genies as well. He agreed to fulfill Jonggrang's wish and started to work it immediately. He used his power to call all the genies and asked them to keep on working until they completed 1000 temples by the time the rooster crowed the next morning.

The genies worked without stop any second. They would only stop by the time the rooster crowed. Soon hundreds of temples were completed. This made Roro Jonggrang restless. She could not sleep or even closed her eyes. She tried to think any way to fail Bondowoso. Finally, she got an idea. She cut paper in the shape of a circle and glued it in front of a candle holder. She lit the candle and carried it to the chicken coop where the rooster slept. When the rooster saw the candle, it thought that it was almost dawn and the sun was going to rise soon. The rooster quickly got up and in a second, it crowed.

The working genies heard the rooster and thought that the morning had come. Instantly, they stopped working and disappeared leaving the undone temples. There were 999 temples that completed. One more to be built. Bondowoso was disappointed to see this. He was very mad. When he found out that it was the work of Roro Jonggrang, he came to her and cursed her into a stone.

The Legend of Toba Lake

There was a poor fisherman lived nearby the river in North Kalimantan. He went fishing early every morning and always returned to his home at night time. One day, he set up his net and caught a big golden fish. He fell in love with the beauty of the fish that he decided not to kill the fish, and made it as a pet instead. So, he took the fish home, cleaned a fish tank and put it in his humble kitchen.

Starting that day, things changed slowly. Every morning the fisherman went out for fishing, no matter how he left his home in a mess, when he returned home, the house would be tidy again. Furthermore, there was always delicious food served on his dining table. The fisherman never knew how it happened, and where the food came from, and who prepared them for him. It brought enormous curiosity to him that he decided to search for the truth.

That morning, he went out as usual, but right when he set out his feet outside, quickly and quietly, he made a turn back to his house. Hiding behind his own window, he took a peep of what happen in the house soon after he left it. Suddenly from inside the kitchen, he could see a bright light shining, and soon after the light disappeared, he could see the fish tank was empty, and a beautiful lady was standing inside his kitchen. The lady quickly got some vegetables and did some cooking. She even cleaned the whole house, sweeping and washing the fisherman's clothes. The fisherman fell in love at the first sight. Before the lady could runaway, the fisherman grabbed her hand and proposed to marry her.

At first, the lady refused for she was just a fish rescued by him. Her deed was a grateful act to repay the fisherman's kindness for not killing her. But since the fisherman time and again persuaded her to marry him, the lady could not refuse him. She agreed to become the fisherman's wife with one condition, that the fisherman promised not to tell anyone - not even his own family - that she was just a fish. The fisherman promised her.

Years went by, the fisherman lived happily with his wife, and changed his work and became a farmer. His wife soon became pregnant and delivered a baby girl that they named "Samosir". Samosir grew up into a pretty girl and obedient as well. She loved to help her parents working in the house or in the farm. One morning, her mother asked her to send lunch to her father in the farm. Samosir was glad to help her mother that she immediately got the basket and headed to the farm.

It was such a long way to got to the farm, that Samosir who had not had any breakfast before, grew tired and hungry. So she stopped to eat a little food from her father's lunch to ease her hunger. Afterward, she continued her journey, however, she became hungry again and had to eat a little food again. This happened again and again till finally her father's lunch was finished. When Samosir gave the basket to her father, how angry her father was to get an empty basket.

"I'm tired working the whole day and expect you to bring some food from your mother, but you finish them all without even thinking of me. How could you? You! A daughter of a fish!" shouted her father in anger.

Samosir ran home crying and telling her mother what had happened. She even asked her mother why her father told her that she was a daughter of a fish. When the mother knew that her husband had eventually broken his promise, she was terribly sad. In tears, she packed all her daughter's clothes and asked her to runaway to the mountain, never look back, and stay there. Samosir did not understand, but she promised to obey her mother.

When the mother was sure that her daughter was safe, she whispered something and slowly she turned herself into a giant fish. The water from river was flooding her house and it came more and more and more that the whole village was flooded and finally disappeared from the earth.

From the top of the mountain, Samosir could only cry to see her village was drowned and the flood surrounded her hiding place. Since then, the place turned into a lake and we called it Lake Toba, and the island in the middle was named after the girl's name, 'Samosir Island'. We can still visit the lake now, and one of the most beautiful lakes in Sumatra island, Indonesia.

Bawang Merah & Bawang Putih

This is a very famous folktale from Indonesia. "Bawang Merah" in English is "Red Onion", and "Bawang Putih" is "white onion". Both are the names of the characters in this story.

Bawang Putih was a name of a little girl who lived in a small village with her father. Her mother passed away when she was still a little baby, so to make Bawang Putih happy and not feeling lonely, her father decided to marry a woman. Bawang Putih's stepmother had a daughter who became Bawang Putih's stepsister, and her name was Bawang Merah.

Both Bawang Merah ang her mother were jealous of Bawang Putih's beauty, however in front of the father, they always treated her nicely. But since Bawang Putih's father was a merchant, he travelled a lot and often left her at home with her stepmother and stepsister. When the father was not around, Bawang Merah and her mother would treat Bawang Putih cruelly. Bawang Putih loved her father dearly, and did not want to break her father's heart that she kept all her stepmother and stepsister bad treatment in heart.

Days went by, Bawang Merah and her mother grew more hatred towards Bawang Putih, so they decided to chase Bawang Putih away forever. That morning, Bawang Merah asked her mother to cook her delicious food. The mother asked Bawang Putih to bu all the ingredients at the market without giving her any money. She even threated her that if she could not get what she wanted, Bawang Putih was not allowed to return home.

Bawang Putih was so scared and hopeless that the only thing she could do was crying nearby the river. Magically, a goldfish appeared in front of and her and it could talk to her. The fish asked why she was crying. Bawang Putih shred her story to fish, and the fish agreed to help. He asked Bawang Putih to put her basket in the river water, and just in a second, the basket was filled with all the food she needed to buy. Bawang Putih was so happy to see it. The fish even promised to help Bawang Putih whenever she came by the river and called for his help.

When she came home, how disappointed her stepmother and her stepsister were to see BAwang Putih had got everything that they asked. The next morning, Bawang Putih's stepmother asked her to do the same thing again; shopping without any penny given. Bawang Putih just went to the river and called the fish to help her. Again, she came home and had her stepmother and stepsister disappointed.

This made the stepmother and Bawang Merah curious. How could Bawang Putih bought everything without any money? One morning, they decided to follow Bawang Putih quietly. When they saw what happened, they were furious. All along, it ws the goldfish who helped Bawang Putih.

The next morning, the stepmother asked Bawang Putih to catch her a big goldfish in the river. She wanted to cook it for her daughter, Bawang Merah. Bawang Putih was very shocked to hear her stepmother's request. If she could not give the fish to her stepmother, she would not be allowed to come home and meet her father anymore.

Bawang Putih cried and cried telling the goldfish what happened. The goldfish was only smiling to her and asked her to catch him and bring him to the stepmother. With a reluctant heart, Bawang Putih put the goldfish in the basket and brought it home. The stepmother quickly cooked it and ate it together with Bawang Merah. Bawang Putih refused to eat her dear helper and friend. When they finished eating the fish, Bawang Putih cleaned the plates and collected the fish bones, and buried them at the backyard of her house. She was in tears when she said her prayer and apology for the goldfish.

Magic happened in the next morning. Right the place where Bawang Putih buried the bones, grew a tree. It was not an ordinary tree for the tree had golden fruits on its branches. All the villagers soon found out about this tree and together they visited Bawang Putih's house to witness the miracle. Bawang Merah and her mother claimed to be the owner of the magic tree, and were proud to admit so.

The news spread so far until the King himself heard about this magic tree, that he decided to visit the place and witness it himself for sure. Off he went with his soldiers, and when he arrived there, he was very amazed of the golden fruits. He quickly asked Bawang Merah and her mother to pick one of those fruits as they were the owners of the tree. But just when Bawang Merah and her mother climbed the tree, a giant snake suddenly appeared and bit them right on their ankles. Without any second, both of them fell to the ground and died because of their own greed.

The King proclaimed whoever managed to pick the fruit, if he was a man, the King would make him as his own brother and would give fortune to him. However, if it was a lady, he would make her as the Queen, for the King had not found a wife yet. Bawang Putih came towards the King and said that she would try to get the fruit for the King, because she wanted to give the King the fruit, not because of her wanting to be the Queen.

Before she climbed the tree, she whispered prayer to the snake that when the snake heard her, it quickly gave a way for her to climb the tree. Bawang Putih could climb the tree safely and get the fruit for the King. The King could see that Bawang Putih was an extraordinary girl. She was not only beautiful, but was kindhearted and humble indeed. The King immediately proposed Bawang Putih to be her Queen, and so she accepted it. And they lived happily ever after.