Michael Stelske, Age 10, Of Milwaukee, Wisc., for his question:

What kind of animal is a sable?

He belongs to the family of the best dressed animals in the world. The sable is cousin to the mink and the martin and the snowy white ermine. Their everyday work clothes are made of the softest and silkiest fur, and they belong to the sharp eyed weasel family of animals.

The sable is a martin whose native home is in the frozen wastes of Siberia. He is actually a Russian weasel, but his coat is one of the most valuable furs in the world. He is a slinky, weasel type fellow about 20 inches long, plus seven inches of slender tail. You might mistake him for our pine martin, who is one of his American cousins.