"Are we glad to see you," said one who appeared to be their leader. He was a little taller than the others and was the one who had greeted them so abruptly. "We welcome you to Tickleland," he continued, bending over in a mock bow. "I might add that we are all very hungry, so we doubly welcome you. Grab those two!" he said, pointing to the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow. Six of the Ticklemonsters quickly jumped on them and held their arms and legs. "Now," said the leader, "let's have us a feast!" "Oh, no," said the Lion, beginning to laugh uncontrollably. "I won't be able to stand it." The Ticklemonsters moved quickly with their eight arms as they grabbed the Lion and Dorothy and tickled and tickled. "Oh, no! Stop, please stop!" shouted Dorothy between peals of laughter. The Lion could not even plead with them to stop. He was laughing so much that tears were rolling down his cheeks. Their pleas to stop could hardly be heard above their laughter. The Tin Woodman and Scarecrow shouted, "Tell them to tickle you." "Then they'll stop." "Remember they do the opposite of what they're told." Dorothy managed to gasp out, "Don't stop tickling me -- tickle me some more." The two Ticklemonsters who were tickling her immediately stopped. "We won't," they said in a huff, and folded their arms and held their hands up with a stubborn look on their faces. The Lion managed to say the same thing, and his Ticklemonsters stopped, too. With that, the Ticklemonsters abruptly turned and left, muttering to themselves, "Trying to tell us what to do. What nerve!" After the Ticklemonsters had gone, everyone picked himself up and headed quickly for the border. When they reached it, they all heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness that's over," said the Lion. "It's a good thing we knew about them not liking to be told what to do." * Chapter Fifteen: Elfland * "Well, what next?" asked Dorothy. "Let's look at the map," said the Tin Woodman. "Ah, of course, Elfland. That is the last country shown on the map. The rest says, /largely unexplored/ Maybe the Elves can tell us something of the land beyond their border." As they entered Elfland, Dorothy remembered the Conciencez and wondered if the Elves were similar. As if in answer to her question, she felt a tug on her shoelace and heard a little voice squeaking, "Excuse me, but you're standing on my foot." "Oh, I'm terribly sorry," exclaimed Dorothy. "I didn't see you," she said, as she bent down to pick the little fellow up. He was about four-and-a-half inches tall and was clothed in a tightly fitted one-piece garment of a brownish color; he had large hands and feet, too large for the size of his body. His legs were thin and spindly, and his large ears were pointed, as was his nose. When Dorothy picked him up, he said, "I was sitting on my friend the rock. We were so deep in conversation that I didn't hear you coming."