The black transfer on this medium size child's mug features a Paul Bunyan type figure, ax in hand, pausing on the stump of the giant oak he has just conquered. The scene is picked out with daubs of bright green and touches of yellow, rose and blue. It is clear which of the mottos on the reverse is illustrated: "Little strokes fell great oaks." The second maxim is related in its import: "By diligence and patience the mouse eat[s] in two the cable."

Quickly produced and sold cheaply mugs such as this were popular gifts for children. That same fact accounts for their relatively low survival rate!