John Mattcx, age 11, of Greenwood, Ind., for. his question;

What is an aye‑aye?

If you lived in Madagascar you might carry a twig from the aye‑aye's nest instead of a rabbit's foot. For the Malagnsy people spy it brings good luck. On the other hand, they say it is fatal to touch an aye‑aye. He is a starry eyed monkey type animal and quite rare, even in his native Madagascar. Few people have studied his home life and what we hear from the Malagasy people is a mixture of fact and fairy talc. The aye‑aye has been handled without fatal results. And, says Andy, a twig from his nest will not make you lucky or unlucky.

The eye‑aye is hoard more often than he is soon. He is namad for the sad sound he makes, eye‑eye, eye‑eye, crying through the night in the bamboo thickets. Ha never wanders around during the daytime. He sleeps through the day in his nest, a ball of twigs built high in a tree top. The nest is about as big as a beach ball. It has a small tunnel through which the aye‑aye crawls to a cozy chamber inside.

The aye‑aye is as big as a house cat. He wears a thick coat of coarse, dark brown hair and he has a very long, furry tail. His ears are large and bat‑like and his wide face wears a swept, puzzled expression. His most notable feature is a pair of large starry eyes. His gentle eyes are gifted with night vision and do not see too well in daytime.

The charming creature is a great tree climber. He has very long fingers and toes and his hands and feet look like four large spiders peeping from under his furry coat. The middle finger on each hand is especially long and very remarkable.

The Malagasy say that he taps the tree trunks with this long middle finger. And, they say, he can tell from the sound whether grubs or insects are buried in the wood. If he suspects they are present ho uses his chisel‑like teeth to chew a hole. Than he uses his long finger to pry them out end eat them.

So far, this is only a Malagasy report and no one has seen him do this in captivity. He will, however, chow wood and spit it out. Perhaps this is because he has rodent type tooth. They are forever growing and must be filed down.

In captivity the aye‑aye seems to prefer a diet of fruit. And he uses his long middle finger as a drinking cup. He dips it through the water and up to his mouth 40 times a minute. His wonderful finger is also used as a curry comb to keep his furry coat neat and clown.

For a long time the aye‑aye was believed to be a lemur. He was classed with these strange, half‑monkey charmers of Madagascar. But certain of his features, the rodents teeth and the amazing hands, set him apart from the lemurs. The rare aye‑aye is now classed in a fanmily all by himself.