Donna Bajlco, age 10, of Garfield, Ohio, for her question:

Are elephants really afraid of mice?

Everybody hears this old elephant story at some time or other, and cost of us hand it on to somebody else. On and on it goes and no end is in sight. An elephant, we say, can be terrified by a mouse. It sounds ridiculous, especially when we learn that a bitsy mouse weighs about one ounce and Jumbo the elephant may weigh six tons. Indeed it is ridiculous, which you can tell to the next person who reports that elephants are afraid of nice.

Naturally the rumor had to be checked out by experts, even though they felt sure it was false. For example, they observed some mice living in a barn that belonged to a zoo elephant. The little fellows scampered here and there, as usual, and even got into the manger used to serve Jumbo's hay. And, the elephant never turned a hair. Either he did not notice or did not mind, even when the mice stole his food. Certainly he was not scared.