"On the first day of Christmas,/ My true love gave to me/ A partridge in a pear tree." A straightforward beginning to a carol that grows increasingly complicated as both the list of presents and the numbers involved accumulate. Brett's lavish treatment of the song portrays various levels of meaning; she has illustrated the fantastic gifts in outrageous splendor (seven swans swim in folkloric Russian headdresses), turned them into a border of tree decorations, included a menagerie of animals carrying banners with "Merry Christmas" in different languages, and set into the outer edges of each page an ongoing story about a family's preparations for the big day itself. In the final frame, the decorated tree serves as the centerpiece for their own caroling.