Excitement at the ranch

So I get home from work today at 7, and the power is out from the windy storm that's blowing through.  Mrs. CW and I found 8 votive candles, and put them around the front room for a bit of light.

Mrs. CW gathered four of them and put them next to her chair so she could knit in the gloom.

One of our housecoats, Theta, has apparently never seen a candle, so she jumped up on the arm of the chair and sniffed one of them.

Then, disaster!  As she turned to go, her very fluffy tail swept over the candles and caught fire!

I was a few feet away, and noticed that suddenly there was more light, I heard a soft crackling sound, and what looked like little Christmas lights over by my wife's head.  Fortunately,  Mrs. CW quickly ran her hand up the cat's tail and put out the furry inferno.

The cat wasn't even sure what had just happened, and isn't burnt, but her formerly luxurious tail is, shall we say, somewhat lessened in glamour.

It's a good thing we got it out so fast.  If she had realized what was happening, she'd have panicked, and ran, which would have made it worse.  She might even have run down the hall and under the bed, and set the house on fire.

Now that would have been an evening to remember!