Stanley Almes, age 10, of Santa Maria, Calif., for his question:

WHICH ANIMAL IS THE FASTEST RUNNER?

The greyhound is a fast runner, but he cannot catch his wild cousin, the fleet footed fox. He cannot even keep up with a bouncy jack rabbit. So certainly the greyhound is not the fastest animal on four feet. This title belongs to a spotted member of the cat tribe called the cheetah. He belongs to Africa, where he must be fast enough to run down antelopes  who can run at 60 m.p.h. with no trouble at all.

The cheetah does not try to chase his dinner over long distances. If he did, he would go hungry. For they are long¬ distance runners, and he is a sprinter. The big cat creeps up to his prey as quietly as possible. Then he makes a sudden dash of perhaps 200 yards.    He may travel this short distance at a speed of 70 m.p.h.  which makes him the fastest runner on four feet.