Scotty Maxwell, age 13, of High Point, North Carolina, for his question:

How are snakes charmed?

For ages, snake charmers of the Orient have been holding their audiences spellbound.  Everybody assumed that the captive cobra swayed his deadly head to the music of the snake charmer's flute. This seemed logical, though quite risky. Then modern researchers probed more deeply into the fascinating event. Perhaps they wondered why the snake likes music or what tunes he prefers. But what they discovered was downright astounding. The cobra has no ears for hearing. Like all snakes, he is stone deaf.

This, naturally, added to the mystery of the snake charming act. However, the experts knew that snakes have other senses and use them instead of ears. The cobra gathers odors and perhaps other information with his darting tongue. His eyes observe every motion around him and he sways his head to keep moving objects in view. As the snake charmer plays, he sways his body and the watchful snake sways with him. Actually the cobra is not charmed by the music. He is just keeping an eye on the scene.