Fred Oliver, Lansing, Mich., for his question:

What are colors like?

This answer is for a student who cannot see and for others who are also blind.There is more to colors than meets the eye. They often prod the feelings we get from scents and sounds, from touch and even taste. They trigger moods that stay with us long after they are faded and gone.

The biggest color is blue, the high sky serene above the storms and the wideOcean deep below the waves. Its courtesy has no limits, and its glorious harmony is an anthem of murmuring rivers, of choirs and pealing organs. It recalls the freshness of May and the bland touch of well water

Green is a fair lady, fragrant and soft-spoken. There is a Separate green for every tree and more to carpet the fields in checkerboard squares--all perfumed with pines and parsley, sages and mint. Green recalls a lilting lullaby, a leafy rustle of whispering breezes.

Brown is low and rough like the ground and sturdy tree trunks. It has the furry touch of guide dogs and bears, bags of cloves and spicy cinnamon, comforting coffeeand chocolate. It buzzes with the bees, hums with throaty drums and keeps toe-tapping time with thumping puppy tails.

Red is fierce as a flame and fast as a beating heart. It is a loud laugh and a wild dance always bold and on parade. It is the stabbing color of wounds and warfare. And sometimes it dons a festive mood of flags and Christmas berries andoffers a bowl of smooth, round apples.

Deep, heavy gray roars with the thunder. It has the touch of steely metals the power of ships and bridges. Light gray is a dreamy mood of swirling smoke. It tiptoes away on a misty morning and returns like a weary echo, bringing a whiff of lavender and a surprising touch of dewdrops • . "-..-

Yellow whistles a high, shrill tune with the happy birds. It nods to the warm sunbeams and dances with till wind ... blown flowers, Cheek to. Cheek. It teases and tempts with mustard, melons and lemons.

Orange has a merry mind of its own. It is a playful. It is the color of a juicy orange Halloween prankster that ho-ha-hos like a tuba and rolls downhill like a pumpkin.

Pink has a shy smile and trills a soft love song. It has the satiny grace of seashells and comes with frothy frills, with bows and birthday cakes.

White stands out crisp and clean, proud and straight as a cane. It recalls starched aprons and new bread, smooth marble and the tingling touch of snowflakes.

Black has nothing to say. It hides the velvety mysteries of midnight and the silent secrets of empty boxes.

Each color is a ladder of graded shades. Its dark, heavy tones step up to paler tones, lightly rinsed in watery washes. The colors and all their tones are in the rainbow. This symphony of distant music spans the sky in an: immense half-hoop of banded ribbons. And no. human eye is sharp enough to see or count all its colors.