Bill Hope, age 11, of Peterborough, Ont., for his question:

What is an armadillo?

He looks like something made from the scraps on a machine shop floor. The pointed head, short legs, feet and tail are sheathed in scaly armor. There is a shield of armor plating over the shoulders and rump. The body is girdled with hinged plates to allow this well protected animal to move. A pair of long pointed oars seems to have been added as an afterthought. No wonder the Spaniards wore puzzled when they saw him first. They named him armadillo, the little‑armor‑plated‑one.

The armadillo looks more like a robot than a flesh and blood animal. In spite of this, he is a warm‑blooded, warm‑hearted mammal. The armor is horny plating, similar to a turtle shell. Actually, it is a modified form of fur. The little fellows thermostat is not too good and his body temperature tends to rise and fall with the climate.

Mr. Robot Armadillo belongs to the order Edentata, the toothless ones. He is cousin to the sloth and the anteater. The anteater has no teeth at all. But the armadillo has 24 or maybe 32 ‑ if you can call them teeth. They are like little pegs, without enamel or roots just sitting on the gums.

There are matey armadillo cousins, all natives of the New World. Most are the size of house cats. The giant of the family may be three or four feet long. He resembles a baby tank. The family midget is called the fairy armadillo, a seven‑inch cutie in a pink shell.

The three‑banded armadillo has three jointed rings of armor around his body. This fellow can curl into a ball. The nine‑banded armadillo is found in Texas. The rest of the family live in Central and South America, as far south as Argentina.

The armadillo is not the fierce warrior he looks to be. The armor is to protect him from cactus thorns and meat‑eating enemies. The strong claws are for digging. He digs for his diet of insects and worms. And he is a great digger of burrows. He protects trees by devouring the termites who feed upon them. He saves small plants by devouring countless hungry grubs.

In character the little robot is shy and gentle. He prefers to run away from trouble and hide in his burrow. Most of his prowling is done at night. His eyesight is weak and his hearing is poor. What's more, there is room for only a small brain in his little head. He is a living example of what can be done with a low I.Q. His family tree goes back countless ages. And the various cousins are still making a safe and happy living for themselves.

Mama Armadillo has her babies in a grassy nest deep down in her burrow. For two months she feeds them mother's milk. Then she educates them with loving care. There are four in the litter and they are always four boys or four girls.

There is a charming picture of a Mama Armadillo and her babies in your gift encyclopedia. The cute little fellows have soft skins, but there are dents to show where the armor plating will be. Later the soft skin will harden into shell. Right now, they trail after nom like four little piglets if you can imagine pigs with straight tails, pointed noses and claws‑on their fingers.