Victoria Farmer was feeding her son while her daughter played in the next room when things went "crazy quiet".
Deciding she had better check in on two-year-old Anistyn, the Colorado mum told kdvr.com she was confronted with a scene that will be painted into her memory for years to come.
"When I walked in she just stood there like a statue," Ms Farmer wrote on Facebook. "It looked like she just climbed right in and went for a swim."
After cleaning her child ("the easy part") and the fireplace ("the scary part"), Ms Farmer promptly submitted the photo to the Ellen show, from whence it has gone viral.
Ms Farmer explained to 7News Denver she had been doing some home improvement late the night before and couldn't get the paint lid on properly.