Hugh Stuart, age 7, of Richmond, Virginia for his question:

Does a baby kangaroo ever fall out of his pouch?

Junior Joey kangaroo does not accidentally fall out of his mother's pouch. Nor does he get car sick when she bounces along in giant leaps. The little fellow is very comfortable and his fur lined pouch is one of the world's coziest, safest cradles. There is a faucet inside to give him mother's milk and he clings to it with all his might until he is grown enough to take a peek at the world outdoors.

Mrs. Kangaroo is as tall and as heavy as a large football player. But her newborn infant is no wider than a pencil and about one inch long. He weighs just about an ounce, and crawling into his mother's cozy pouch is a big problem. But once he gets inside, he finds his faucet and clings there. At first the bitsy baby is blind, bare and helpless. As he grows, he opens his eyes and gets a hairy coat. After several months, he dares to poke his head outside for a look at the world. Soon he hops out for short romps. But he will not be ready to leave his pouch altogether until he is about 14 months old.