Noreen Young, age 11, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, for her question:

Does a wish on a star really come true?

Andy says that in his experience this depends almost entirely upon what you wish. Naturally he follows the rules by selecting the first star to wake up in the sky after sun¬down. He pauses a moment to admire its bright twinkling eye and if it does not twinkle he looks for the next one to appear. Non twinkling stars that stare right back at you with a steady light are planets and not true stars. The wishing game requires a real star and a planet will not do.

    Now to select a wish. One of Andy's wishes has proved successful again and again. In fact, he can recommend it to succeed. It is a simple wish that the sun will rise at dawn tomorrow morning. And sure enough, it always does. Perhaps this would have occurred in any case and wishing on a star did not help a bit. Come to think of it, a star does not seem to help or hinder a lot of other wishes either. No matter what you wish and no matter how bright the star, the weather tomorrow will do just as it chooses. Star wishing does not seem to change what people do either. So, perhaps, after all, the stars do not grant wishes. Maybe they  are just up there to be enjoyed and admired.