I just checked and every single textbook I own that contains a reference to this transformation uses an image of a sheep. Sadly all of my textbooks are in English. If I had any relevant texts in German or Spanish I doubt that they would makes this connection.
On an less relevant note one of the books introduces the idea of change of basis with a joke about labeling axes and has several different types of ax with corresponding labels attached and I find that to be a much worse joke.
I guess because it’s absurd you’ll remember it easier.
Kind of how people can recall a deck of cards by placing a person doing an action to an object (PAO) in familiar places. It’s the absurdity that makes you remember.
The reason it's easier to remember for humans is a double edged sword. If you accidentally type in text fields which don't mask input, it's easier to memorize for someone paying attention.
In English the tool for chopping down trees is spelled axe. Just letting you know since you're multilingual and I assume English isn't your first language.