T. J. Clairborne, Jr. age 14, of Pattisan, Miss., for the question:

How dangerous is a hoopsnake?

A hoopsnake is as dangerous as a goblin or a bogeyman. Now if we have any sense at all, we know that there are no goblins and no bogeymen anywhere in the world. The same thing is true of the hoopsnake. There are none of them in the world either.

There are people who can look you in the eye and tell you for sure that they have seen a hoopsnake. This amazing snake grabbed his tail in his mouth and became a circle. He then tilts the circle on end and went bowling along like ‑a hoop. This is a wonderful idea, but no snake has ever thought of it. They are not very smart animals and this engineering job would be beyond them.

Next time you hear a hoopsnake story, put it in a closet with the bogeyman. The person who tells you such a yarn is either seeing things that are not there or he is teasing you.