Thomas Brown, age 10, of Phoenix, Ariz., for his question:    

WHERE DO WE GET PERSIAN LAMB?

Beautiful fleeces called Persian lamb, broadtail and caracul actually come from a fat tailed sheep called the karakul. Karakuls are lean and have narrow backs. They can store up enough fat in their tails and back legs to live on when food is scarce.

The male karakuls, called rams, have wide spreading, spiral horns, but the females, called ewes, usually have none.

The coarse fleece of the adult karakul is white, yellowish, gray, brown or black. Young karakul lambs have a silky fleece, which is usually black in color. But occasionally it is brown, tan and gray. The fleece has a high luster and is often curled until the fifth day after the lamb's birth.

Karakul pelts have great commercial value. The most expensive, called broadtail, usually comes from lambs that were born too soon. Persian lamb is the tightly curled pelt of lambs from three to 10 days old. Caracul is the wavy fur of lambs not older than two months.

Most skins are produced in southwestern Africa, central and southwestern Asia, India and southeastern Europe.