Elizabeth Jean Mattingly, age 11, of Springfield, Ky., for her question:

Is there a queen of beasts?

No one doubts that his majesty the lion is King of Beasts. He is brave, noble and strong enough to beat any other animal in a fair fight. But his majesty is a family man, very devoted to his several wives and his cubs. He defends them fiercely, teaches the young ones to behave as proper lions should and treats them all as though they were indeed the royal family.

When the time comes to hunt, the lady lion leads the chase and makes the kill. In a fight, especially where her young ones are concerned, she is quite as strong and as fierce as her husband. Since she is the wife of the King and a noble animal in her own right, we naturally think of her as the Queen of Beasts.