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Story Notes:

This story is a mix of the fantasy and western genres. It's also my first attempt at having a shrunken woman as the lead. It's loosely inspired by Thumbelina and, as such, is in the same universe as my League of Homunculi series. However, it's set in a different century than those stories and requires no prior knowledge of them. I hope you enjoy.

Barleycorn Beauty

By Pixis

Once, in a time of legend, a barren woman who desired a child begged the help of an enchantress. She was granted a magic barleycorn from which grew a beautiful flower. And within its petals was a tiny girl, scarcely as big as a thumb.

That was many centuries past. But the secret of the barleycorn was preserved by the enchantress and her descendants. Though rare and wondrous, other barleycorn beauties have been born throughout the ages to seek their destiny in a very big world.

This is one such story.


Chapter 1

Wilhelmina Smallwood grasped the feather tightly in her hands. Singing softly to herself and dancing with her makeshift broom, she swept the table surface and pushed the dust into a neat little pile. Nearby sat the towering figure of her mother, Eulalia, in her customary gingham dress and red kerchief. She had a look of pensive worry on her face and a metal strongbox resting on her lap. Eulalia clucked her tongue in dismay as she peered inside. The drought had made for a poor harvest and the farm’s funds were nearly depleted.

As she counted the money one more time, a cloud of dust rose from the tabletop. Eulalia wrinkled her nose and tried to hold it back but soon let loose a violent sneeze. Like a gale force wind, the powerful blast lifted Wilhelmina and her feather from the table and sent her tumbling through the air. She landed roughly on her rump and nearly slid over the edge. With a gasp, Eulalia reached out to catch her two-inch-tall daughter before she could fall.

“I’m sorry, darlin’,” she said, scooping the tiny girl into the palm of her hand.

“That’s all right, Mama. Occupational hazard,” said Wilhelmina. She sat down on the soft platform of skin and began to smooth out the wrinkles of her apron and her lovely purple dress (Eulalia was quite adept at sewing doll clothes for her minute progeny). 

“How much do we have left?” Wilhelmina asked.

Eulalia frowned. She was a hardy frontier woman, not prone to showing emotion. But the situation was dire. “T’ain’t much, I won’t lie to ya. There ain’t enough to pay the farmhands any longer. I’ll have to work the land alone if I want to make good on my claim.”

Eulalia had claimed her little farm in Dakota Territory under the Homestead Act of 1862. She’d gotten it at minimal cost, only the promise that she would reside there for five years, build a home, and significantly improve the land. But with a drought and a harsh summer killing her crops, debts mounting up, and the last of her savings nearly gone, Eulalia was unsure if she could show the government any improvements. If she failed, the deed to the farm might go to another homesteader who could prove they’d do better.

“You won’t be alone, Mama,” Wilhelmina insisted. The minuscule brunette grasped her mother’s thumb to steady herself and stood up in the hollow of her hand. “You’ll have me!”

The larger woman gave a heavy sigh. Air escaping from her lips rustled her teensy daughter’s dress and sent her long brown hair dancing. The girl gripped the huge thumb tighter to keep from being blown away like a leaf. 

“Ya can’t help me, Mina,” Eulalia told her. “You’re much too small to work a plow or carry a spade. Ya can’t lift more than a few grains of wheat. And ya certainly can’t tend the animals. The chickens would peck ya to death and a cow might gobble ya up in a patch of grass.”

“Then I’ll get us more money so you can keep the hired hands,” declared Mina. She smirked as a thought occurred to her. “Maybe I should find a rich husband.”

“Heh. Wouldn’t that be somethin’?” her mother chuckled. “But I don’t think many fellas would go for a pocket-sized bride, sweetie.”

“No, I suppose not,” Mina said sadly. She hung her head and contemplated the lines in her mother’s hand. After a moment, she looked up again. “I’ll make the money myself then. It’s about time I earned my keep. I’m eighteen now, a woman grown.”

Eulalia shot her daughter an incredulous look. “Not grown very much,” she said. “And I think it’s clear by now that ya ain’t gettin’ any bigger.”

Mina pouted and put her hands on her tiny hips. “I was over two inches the last time you measured me.”

“You was standin’ on tiptoes. And that ain’t the point!” Eulalia exclaimed. “Who’s gonna hire a gal the size of a grasshopper? Jobs out here is limited for women, even full-sized ones.”

“I could be a teacher,” said Mina. “Size doesn’t matter if you can use your brain.”

“No child would respect a schoolmarm smaller than their thumb. They’d walk all over ya. Literally. Imagine if some brat don’t like the lesson and decides to just squish the teacher!”

“I could…tend bar in the saloon,” the girl suggested.

“How ya gonna pour whiskey from a bottle the size of a building? And, heaven help us, what if ya fell into some rumpot’s drink and he swallowed ya up?!”

Mina tried to think. “There must be something I could do. Aren’t there ladies that work in the town?”

“The only other working girls out here are in the whorehouses. And no daughter of mine is gonna debase herself like that!” Eulalia shuddered at the thought. The mental image of Mina in such a place was horrific. Her daughter held on tight to her thumb as a tremor passed through the hand below her.

“Lordamighty, what was I thinkin’ bringin’ ya here?” Eulalia cried. “The west ain’t no place for a wee slip of a thing like you.”

In her heart, Eulalia knew why she had brought Mina there. It was the same reason she’d sought the help of that old medicine woman to have a child in the first place. It was clear by now that she’d have no offspring of her own. The good Lord had not seen fit to give her that ability. What was more, her parents and siblings were dead and all her potential suitors had rejected her over the years. This tiny miracle girl hatched from a barleycorn was the only family she had.

Still, it was a harsh life she had consigned them both to. Keeping the little lady safe and out of trouble was a daily stress. Whatever magic had given Mina life had made her stronger and more durable than her size would indicate. But she wasn’t invincible. And truth be told, the girl was a bit on the clumsy side.

Mina let go of the thumb and began to pace back and forth in the giant palm. “Surely, I could help somehow, Mama. Maybe I could—eeep!”

In her distracted state, the miniature maiden had lost her footing and stepped right off the side of Eulalia’s hand. Her mother extended her other hand quickly to catch her.

“Look at ya, Mina!” snapped Eulalia. “I so much as breathe on ya wrong and ya tumble over! You’re always underfoot or fallin’ from high places! For God’s sake, child, last week I nearly ate ya alive when ya fell into my porridge!”

Mina looked up from where she lay and gave a dismissive wave of her little hand. “Oh, you wouldn’t have really—”

“I would have!” her mother barked, years of frustration finally finding their release. “If I hadn’t felt ya wigglin’ on my tongue, I could have swallowed ya whole in a single gulp! You were a few seconds away from takin’ up residence in here!” Eulalia slapped her large, round belly a few times, sending a shiver through the diminutive girl.

“Face reality, darlin’! You’re completely helpless! There’s nothin’ ya can do to save this farm. Ya can barely take care of yourself!”

She lowered her hand and let her stunned and trembling daughter disembark onto the tabletop once more.

“Just…stay out of the way and let me handle this. I’ll get us outta this mess. Somehow.”

* * * *

That night, Mina tossed and turned in the hollowed-out walnut shell that served as her bed. Her mother was right about her. She was helpless. She was useless. She was nothing but a burden. Perhaps Eulalia would be better off without her.

No, she thought, kicking off the fluff of cotton she used as a blanket. There had to be a way she could help. If she could somehow get the money they needed, they could hire back the farmhands. They could pay their debts. They could get new tools and farming equipment. They could save their homestead!

Mina climbed out of the walnut shell and crept across the bedside table. In the distance, she could see the gargantuan bed and the gently rolling landscape of Eulalia’s body, wrapped snugly under the covers. The giant woman’s mighty snores reverberated in Mina’s chest. While her mother slept, the thumb-sized girl lowered herself into the top drawer of the table, which was thankfully open a crack. 

Fumbling in the darkness, she gathered a few of her little dresses and other doll clothing. She slipped these into a scrap of handkerchief, tied it up, and slung it over her shoulder. Next, she located a slip of paper and a pen that was taller than she was. With difficulty, she hoisted these back up onto the table. Gripping the pen in both hands like a spear, she left her mother a note (writing in the largest letters she could manage):

OFF TO SEEK MY FORTUNE. I WILL SAVE FARM AND MAKE YOU PROUD.

-MINA

She was about to descend the miniature rope ladder to the floor when she glanced back at Eulalia. God alone knew when they would see each other again. Or if. It was a big scary world out there and anything could happen. Overcome with emotion, Mina felt the sudden desire to kiss her goodbye. It was a risk (Eulalia would stop her from leaving if she awoke) but Mina didn’t care.

Sitting down on the edge of the table, the girl scooted forward and dropped carefully down onto the pillow. Her feet sank into the plush surface and she nearly fell over. Mina thrust out her arms to maintain her balance. As quietly as possible, she approached the gigantic shape of Eulalia’s head, struggling through a tangled bracket of loose brown hair. The snores were near deafening now and Mina had to cover her ears. She stood before the wall of her mother’s cheek and planted a tiny kiss on it. Eulalia muttered softly in her sleep and began to roll over.

Mina stumbled backwards quickly as the huge face started to turn. A wide expanse of cheek pressed into the pillow where she had previously stood. Now Eulalia’s enormous lips were facing towards her. In this sideways position, they were taller than Mina was. The colossal mouth opened wide as Eulalia continued to snore. Mina found herself staring into a vast, dark cave lined by teeth the size of boulders. The sudden intake of breath tugged at her garments and threatened to sweep her off her feet and into that daunting cavern.

Mina jumped back in fright. It wouldn’t do for her to get inhaled before her journey had even begun. Eulalia might wake up or, worse, unconsciously swallow her in her sleep! Mina shuddered as she remembered the incident with the porridge.

The snore concluded with a quick exhalation of breath that pushed Mina off the edge of the pillow and onto the bed. She landed on her back with a plop and lay sprawled there for a moment. Eulalia did not stir any further. The tiny girl stood back up and silently cursed herself for being so reckless. Eulalia had warned her of the dangers of sleeping giants.

Mina walked to the side of the bed and grabbed hold of the sheet, sliding skillfully down it to the floor. She slipped under the bedroom door, scurried through the house, and out to the stables.

The horses neighed and snorted restlessly but she navigated her way carefully between their hooves. In an alcove of the back wall, she found Swiftpaws, her beloved pet field mouse. She had tamed him several years ago and often rode him about the farm and the house (much to her mother’s chagrin. Eulalia couldn’t abide rodents. Ironic that fate had gifted her with a daughter that resembled one).

Mina rubbed the mouse’s head as he playfully nuzzled her and twitched his whiskers. The girl fitted him with the tiny saddle and reins she’d made and climbed onto the animal’s back.

“Ride like the wind, Swifty,” she whispered in his ear. The little gray mouse was off like a shot, skittering into the night.

To be continued...

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