"You see," the elf continued, "all forms of life are in a state of evolution; not only physically, but spiritually, too. Unfortunately, not all evolve as fast spiritually as they do physically. Many of your people have advanced greatly in science and knowledge, but that advancement is not balanced by spiritual knowledge. And so a great deal of unnecessary suffering exists. But, to get back to your little friend the goldfish: he is evolving, too, and no form of life can advance very much in one short lifetime, so, after that quite short, often difficult life spent on the mortal realm, everyone comes to a place like this for a long rest. Well, it's usually long, but can be short, too, depending on the need. Then they must return for another round of experiences. Finally, one day, if their lessons are learned, they earn the right to live in a place like our world forever, and no longer have to return to that harsh land of yours." "Oh, that would be wonderful!" cried Dorothy. "May I come to Elfland when I die?" "Of course," replied the Elf. "But you must try to live as long as you can first, and try to overcome all of the difficulties presented to you, and that overcoming will make you strong and will earn you a place in this beautiful land of ours. "Some people, unfortunately, cannot bear the difficulties that the mortal life presents, and may, by their own hand, cut their lives short to try to escape. But there is no real escape, for eventually, except in rare instances, they will have to face that which they have sought to avoid. So why prolong the agony? Learn your lessons well -- and accept gracefully all that happens. Be positive through the bad as well as the good. No more than this is expected of you. Now, not to change the subject, exactly. But would you like to look around?" "Yes, we'd love to," replied Dorothy. "All right," said the Elf. "But no talking to anyone until his work is done." "When will that be?" inquired Dorothy. "Well ... actually ... never, but they'll be having a little break soon," replied the Elf, with a grin. "As you can see, we work very hard here." "Everyone seems so happy as they work," said Dorothy. "It wasn't always this way," replied the Elf. "We used to be ruled by a wicked king who used us as slave labor, but we broke away from that wicked king and came here and started a new land. Now that we are free to live as we wish, we pool our labor for the benefit of all." "Are you the leader?" asked Dorothy. "We don't have one," answered the Elf. "We do not allow any person or any group of people absolute power over the rest of us." "How are things decided, then?" asked the Tin Woodman, who had been listening very intently. "Well, we are not a big country," replied the Elf, "so we don't need a full-time government." "You do have a government, then?" said the Scarecrow.