Patti Jo Trethewey, age 8, of Globe, Ariz., for her question:

What are Apache tears?

The Apaches are American Indians. Once upon a time their ancestors were fierce warriors who roamed through the Western mountains and prairies. Often they went on the warpath and drove peaceful Indians from their homes and farms. In those days, no doubt the Apaches made many people weep. But these sad people did not shed what we call Apache tears. If you know somebody who collects rocks, he or she will tell you that Apache tears are little stones.

Most of them look like glassy little beads, tinted with smoky gray. When you find one on or in the ground, usually there are more of them nearby. The earth created them from certain lavas that flowed from volcanoes. When they cool they are glassy rocks, filled with bubbles of gas. Sometimes these special lavas were altered by the earth and cracked apart by the weather. Some of the glassy gray fragments are smooth and rounded like beads. Rock collectors call them Apache tears because they are found where the Apaches lived and some of the little beads are shaped like frozen teardrops.