Mike Pohlmann* age 9, of Fern Creek, Ky.for his question:

How does a worm see?

Mr. Pinky., the earthworm, is a small miracle. He can hear without ears and see without eyed. He can travel without legs and dig a burrow without a spade. If he is cut in half at the right spot, he can grow into two worms, Even more amazing is his family life   for every earthworm is both a mother and a father,

We see with out eyes. And, since Mr.. Pinky has no eyes, he cannot see what we see. We see him as a small wriggly tube covered with soft,, naked skin. He cannot see us as we are, with body, limbs and head. He cannot even see the hungry robin hopping across the lawn. He senses these things as patches of light and shade.

Darkness makes the worm feel safe. To him, light is a threat to be avoided. For to a worm, light really is dangerous. In broad daylight, his little pink body is very noticeable on the lawn. The garden is full of hungry animals with bright .eyes, able to see details 3n the daylight. Chances are., Mr. Pinky would not last five minutes.

So., during the bright daylight hours, he stays in his dark, safe burrow nibbling the soil and digesting the bits of food he finds in it. After sunset, or in the pearly dawn, he may venture firth to find a moldy leaf. He will pull it to his burrow and drag it part way down for tomorrow's lunch. This daring adventure goes off safely, for there is not enough light to reveal him to his enemies.

Without eyes, how does he know when it is light or dark? Mr. Pinky has special .cells. in his skin. They are sensitive to light and shade: When they sense light, they flash a warning to the worms simple nervous system • a warning which says, Danger, Get away, And Mr. Pinky hurriedly crawls back into the shadow from which he came.

. The quickest way to find them in the daylight is to take a spade or a fork and turn over some loamy soil. Break it apart and chances are, you will roust Mr, Pinky out of his burrows

If you want to catch him off guard, you must hunt after sunset or in the pearly dawn. Then you may find him crawling through the grass. He has no ears and cannot hear things as we do. But he can sense vibrations, Your footsteps may feel like an earthquake to him and he will naturally scoot back to his burrow,

You may want to see how his sensitive skin cells work, so take along a flashlight. Wait until the little adventurer comes out of his burrow, Remember he cannot see in the dim light and if you are very still he does not know that you are there. Now switch on the flashlight. The sensitive cells in his skin will respond and order him back into his safe shady burrow.