ANIMAL-TRAP
An iron elephant that seizes the mouse with its trunk.
The operator turns a crank arm to wind a spiral spring inside the elephant-shaped body, then rests the arm against a wire connected to a bait box hanging below the trunk. The mouse approaches from the front and disturbs the bait box, releasing the wire. The wound spring snaps the crank back, jerking the trunk lever downward and then sharply upward. The jerk springs a pair of curved jaws at the trunk's end, which close around the mouse and lift it from the ground.
“The sudden reciprocating movement thus caused of the forward end of the lever disturbs the equilibrium of the jaws C and the spring D, causing the said spring to close the jaws around the body of the mouse, and then lift the latter up from the ground as high as indicated by the dotted position, in a manner somewhat similar to that of an elephant grasping and raising something with its trunk.”— Frederick Glasson, from the specification
And the world did not beat a path to his door.