Linda Cowan, age 11, of Thomasville, No. Carolina, for her question:

Is it true that snakes cannot hear?

A snake pays no attention when you talk to him and even if you holler your head off he does not hear you. This is because he is stone deaf to sounds that travel through the air. These, of course, are the sounds to which our own ears are tuned. On the other hand, the snake is much more sensitive to sound vibrations that travel through solid substances. His whole body senses the vibrations in the ground caused by approaching foot¬steps.

This information, however, fails to make sense when we watch a snake charmer coax a cobra to sway to the music of his flute. Actually this famous animal show is not what it seems to be. The snake cannot hear a note of the music. But, as always, he tries to keep a sharp eye on what goes on around him. If you watch more closely than you are supposed to watch, you will see that the sly charmer sways gently to and fro. And the sly snake sways gently to and fro to keep his eye on the charmer.