Bawang Merah Bawang Putih (Shallot and Garlic)
A popular Javanese folktale of two stepsisters: Bawang Putih (Garlic), who is kind, diligent, and beautiful, and Bawang Merah (Shallot), who is spoiled, lazy, and cruel. After their father dies, Bawang Putih is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsister. While washing clothes in the river, she accidentally loses a garment and meets an old woman who returns it after Bawang Putih helps her with chores. The old woman rewards her with a pumpkin containing jewels. Greedy Bawang Merah replicates the journey but behaves rudely, receiving a pumpkin filled with snakes and scorpions. The story teaches