Kathy Ann Sloan, age 9, of Omaha, Nebraska, for her question:

What is the origin of the word "chocolate" ?

Children in England asked this same question 300 years ago. Chances are, their parents told them that the word "chocolate" means Food of the Gods. This answer was wrong, though the mouth watering new treat did indeed taste good enough to be served to heavenly visitors. Actually, its name was borrowed from the Indians of Central America. When the Spanish explorers arrived, they found that these people had been enjoying chocolate for ages. The Central American Mayans called it "cacauatl," or "the bitter juice," and this name was borrowed by the Aztec people who came after the Mayas. The Spanish borrowed the word and it was changed to our word chocolate.

"Bitter juice" seems a most unsuitable name for the delicious flavor. But chocolate is made from the cocoa bean and the plain juice is very bitter. Sugar and vanilla are needed to soften the tang and bring out the wonderful flavor. Maybe a few things taste as good, but nothing tastes better than chocolate. It may be a suitable food for gods and other heavenly beings, but we are ordinary people and for us the delicious stuff is just a treat. A treat is one of those items that we save up to enjoy only once in a while. That way, we can always look forward to it and never in a lifetime get tired of it.