Becky Stewart, age 11, of Fowlerville, Mich., for her question:

Which is the fastest running animal in the world?

The fastest four footed runners f1ee and chase across the sun drenched plains of Africa. Mary of them can outrun a pair of greyhounds, and some can outdistance the fastest of our fast horses. On the African veldt, speed is a matter of life and death. Some must chase to catch their food, others must run to escape their enemies.

In the wilds, some of the fastest runners are member’s of the fleet footed deer family. These speed champions include graceful gazelles and antelopes who start a sprint with a leap 30 feet long. For six or seven miles, these fellows can outrun a each of greyhounds. But over longer distances, they may be outrun by a few of the best Arabian horses.

The gazelles and antelopes are most at home on the sunny stretches of Africa, south of the sandy Sahara. They are cud chewing members of the family Bovidae and strict vegetarians. And all herbivores are hunted by enemy carnivores. Most of them must be fast enough or lucky enough to outrun the meat  eaters, or their species would perish. But the carnivores must be still faster   fast enough to catch their f1eeing prey or they would perish from hunger.

The fastest four footed sprinter in the world can catch the black buck of India, speediest of the speedy antelopes. He is an odd member of the cat family ca11ed the Cheetah, alias the hunting leopard. However, the champion cheetah must catch his prey in the first mad dash, for he is no match for the antelope in endurance. The clever cat creeps up near his grazing victim. At the right moment, he plunges from a crouching position at a speed of 45 miles an hour. His top speed, timed with a stop watch, is 70 miles an hour.

A grown cheetah might be mistaken for a leopard at the awkward, long legged, stage of life. His coat of short fur is yellow anti. Heavily freckled with black spots. His huge paws faith their thick pads and dog type claws are built for running. Those blunt claws, unlike those of other cats, cannot be retracted into sheaths when not in use.

Mr. Sprinter likes peop1e and he is often tamed and trained as a hunting cat. He is an old funny face with drooping mustache and his deep, dark eyes have a thoughtful, worried expression. When stroked, he purrs with pleasure and a tamed cheetah is always ready to join in a playful chasing game.

The cheetah's portrait appears in ancient pictures of Indian hunting scenes. He went with the rajah's hunting party, a  chasing the speedy deer. When captured as a cub, the friendly eharaeter becomes too gent1e for use as a hunter. To become a good hunting cat, he must be taken as an adult, after he has learned the fierce and savage ways of life in the wild.