Alicia Ojeda, age 10, of Milwaukee, Idisonsin, fox her question:

How fast can a roadrunner run?

When he enters a flat race, the roadrunner can dash along at about 20 miles per hour. This is when his bright eye notices a car driving through his desert. For reasons known only to himself, he may decide to challenge it to a race. He is much too clever to risk an accident, so he races beside the road, pacing the car as he goes. Naturally a car can win, but it is fun to slow down and let the sprightly roadrunner have his fun. After a short spurt at his top speed, he soon makes a sudden sharp turn and disappears among, the desert shrubbery.

He looks somewhat like a small, skinny chicken, with long legs and an extra long tail. His rather raggedy feathers are speckled to match the desert scenery and he wears a smart feathery crest on his head. He uses his long curved beak for killing rattlesnakes    which he enjoys even more than auto racing.