He took the cat, whose hair was burning hot, and put it on his knees. The children drew near.
“Jules, put out the lamp; we must be in the dark.”
The lamp put out, Uncle Paul passed and repassed his hand over the tom-cat’s back. Oh! oh! wonderful! the beast’s hair is streaming with bright beads; little flashes of white light appear, crackle, and disappear as the hand rubs; you would have said that sparks of fireworks were bursting out from the fur. All looked on in wonder at the tom-cat’s splendor.
“That puts the finishing touch! Here is our cat making fire!” cried Mother Ambroisine.
“Does that fire burn, Uncle?” asked Jules. “The cat does not cry out, and you stroke him without being afraid.”
“Those sparks are not fire,” replied Uncle Paul. “You all remember the stick of sealing-wax which, after being rubbed on cloth, attracts little pieces of straw and paper. I told you that electricity, aroused by friction, is what makes the paper draw to the wax. Well, in rubbing the cat’s back with my hand I produce electricity, but in greater abundance, so much so that it becomes visible where it was at first invisible, and bursts forth in sparks.”
“If it doesn’t burn, let me try,” pleaded Jules.
Jules passed his hand over the cat’s fur. The bright beads and their cracklings began again still stronger. Emile and Claire did the same. Mother Ambroisine was afraid. The worthy woman perhaps saw some witchcraft in the bright sparkles from her cat. The cat was then let loose. Besides, the experiment was beginning to give annoyance, and if Uncle Paul had not held the animal fast perhaps it would have begun to scratch.