Cat and Mouse Automaton

It is late in the evening, the children have finished their supper and are on their way to bed, while in the deserted nursery a mouse creeps out of her home inside the wall in search of a breakfast treat for her hungry babies who are just awakening. Will the wooden puppet and clockwork cat notice her? Will she manage to get safely back to her hole? This hand-cranked automaton operates through a sequence of hand cut wooden gears, cams and levers which together activate the hesitating advance of the mouse, the concern of the puppet as well as the interest of the cat who eventually can restrain himself no longer .... Credits: Constructing the automaton would not have been possible without the many resources of the internet - most especially .... Gear design Geneva wheel design Victorian mouse portrait Nursery wall paper