Alan Unell, age i0, of Chicago, Ill., for His question:

How are fossils formed?

Most fallen plants and animals are attacked by decay bacteria and other hungry Midgets in the soil. A fossil is what remains of an ancient living thing which did not entirely decay into dust. Perhaps an animal fell on arid ground where decay bacteria are scarce. Many plants fell in stagnant water where nature's little garbage Men had not enough oxygen to do their work.

The face of the earth is forever shifting. The remains of living things became covered with dust and mud, with stony avalanches and cindery lava. These buried remains were preserved in the ground and became fossils.