If you were a toddler standing on the precipice of a volcano, it might seem fun, and perhaps even like a good idea, to take a running leap into its fiery gaping maw. It stands to reason that if lava looks delicious to eat, it would also feel nice to plop into. Like a giant, very hot bowl of pudding.

Of course, the reality of the situation is that it would be quite tragic if a toddler did jump into a volcano, but it almost happened in Hawaii on Christmas day. A family visiting Hawaii’s Mount Kīlauea had the fright of their lives as their toddler wandered out of their sight and nearly leaped off of a 400-foot cliff’s edge into the erupting volcano.

If you haven’t heard, Kīlauea is erupting right now. You can watch it erupting live on a live stream if you want:

It’s not much more than a still image of a smoldering wasteland, but it’s still pretty cool. Now imagine if a small child had fallen into that. The child ran away from its mother who noticed the escaped little boy just as he was about to leap off the edge. She grabbed him just in time to pull him back from oblivion.

Park Ranger Jessica Ferracane, who witnessed the whole thing, says that if the kid had fallen in he would likely not have survived, thus settling the age-old debate of who would win in a fight, a toddler or an active Hawaiian volcano.