The inscription at the top of the drawing reads: I Saw Three Ships. Below three women stand atop three tiny ships. The image is an allusion to a traditional British Christmas Carol by the same name dating back to around the 17th century. The lyrics start off this way:
I saw three ships come sailing in
?On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
I saw three ships come sailing in
?On Christmas day in the morning.
Below is a video of a beautiful rendition of this carol:
A little cherub asks: How Does My Lady's Garden Grow? The lady is carrying a watering can and ruby red slippers, not too practical for a garden. Behind her are little baby faces growing out of flowers.
In this illustration, a young woman is picking flowers in the forest, in contrast to the manicured garden of the lady in the previous drawing.
In this final scene from the Victorian coloring book, four girls are dancing around a mulberry bush. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush is a traditional British children's song, whose meaning is debatable.
