As the story goes, a mother who could not have a child was sad and sought the help of the good witch Mother Birdie. She gave the grieving woman a jar of barleycorns and gave her instructions on how to grow a daughter. From this first flower grew Thumbelina, and the happy mother saved the rest of the jar of barleycorn. When the Adversary began to sweep through the Homelands, her jar of barleycorn was confiscated and left in a tower to be guarded by Mr. Grandours, a sorcerer who could take the form of a bear. 

Worlds away, an envoy from Lilliput, consisting of only men, set out to find a place for the Lilliputians to be safe from the Adversary. This group of men eventually found their way to the Mundane world but were left in a horrible predicament: they had no women with them to keep them company or help them grow the population of Smalltown. Thumbelina found her way to the town but was buffeted by too many eager suitors. Seeking a solution, one brave Lilliputian named Johnny Bullhorn along with his falcon friend Arrow set out to retrieve the barleycorn jar from the Homelands. They succeeded and brought the jar home to Smalltown.

When Bufkin finds himself trapped in the Fabletown business office with the Baba Yaga and an evil D'jinn, he devises a plan to try and kill them. Part of his plan is to grow the remaining Barleycorn Brides to have a miniature force with which to fight. In addition to helping move Frankie's head and the heads of the Wooden Soldiers, the Barleycorn maidens were tasked with slowly dousing Baba Yaga's wooden flying cup with fuel to make it flammable. Although that plan backfired, the girls helped push a wagon with Bufkin on it (holding the vorpal sword) that led to the death of the evil witch.

In addition to Thumbelina, several other maidens were named in the Witches story arc. Below are their names: