Joseph Peters., age 9, of Scottsdale. Ariz.,, for his question:

Which is the world's fastest running animal?

A sheep can run as fast as a bulky elephant and a long legged camel can outrun them both. A two legged emu bird can run as fast as a two lagged man, but he cannot catch a long legged, long necked giraffe. A horse can gallop along at 40 miles an hour ¬which is as fast as a sea gull can fly.

Some of the fleet footed gazelles can run 60 miles an hour. But this is not always fast enough to escape the hungry cheetah. This big, spotted cat is said to be the world's fastest runner. In short spurts he can run at almost 70 miles an hour but he soon tires. For this reason he learns to sneak up close to his prey. If a gazelle has only a short start, Mr. Cheetah can catch him. But if the chase is long the cheetah tires and the gazelle escapes.