Frank Kuklis, Age 8, Of Atlentown, Pa., For his question:

What makes a whale spout water?

A great whale can spend 20 minutes or a whole hour under the water, and he can dive down perhaps a mile below the ocean waves. But once in a while he must come up to the surface to take a breath of air. For he is an air breathing anima.. He can stay under water only as long as he can hold his breath.

When he needs a breath of fresh air, he comes up and puffs all the stale air out of his monstrous lungs. The air is mixed with steamy moisture, and the whale puffs it out of a blow hole on the top of his head. When he spouts, the huge fellow is emptying his lungs to take in a supply of fresh air.