"Only because you make it so," replied the Elf. "Too much mortal thought and not enough spiritual thought is the main problem with your system. By the way," he said, "we do not use money here. But we once did. And, when we did, we all paid ten percent of our earnings in taxes. In other words, we all paid an equal portion of our income, and no one was allowed any deductions. Of course, now we don't use money anymore, so we are required to give ten percent of our goods or services. However, nobody abides by it because we all give more voluntarily. We have no greed here, so we don't hoard vast amounts of goods and property. We just take what we need for today, for that's all anybody needs. If someone should feel he needs more -- our community warehouses are full. But, since there is plenty for everyone, nobody bothers to acquire a whole lot, or, if anyone does, he soon tires of it." "What if someone is not content with one of these little houses you have," asked Dorothy, "but wants to build a great big house on top of the hill?" "No problem," replied the Elf. "He just makes his wishes known on the bulletin board in the town square, and everybody stops what he's doing and runs to help build the house. But most Elves like to live close together (we're very friendly). We enjoy each other's company, and are very considerate of one another. We don't like to isolate ourselves from our neighbors." "Well, as I said, everyone seems so very happy," said Dorothy. "Oh, yes," replied the Elf. "We work harder for each other than we do for ourselves. There is great joy in helping someone else. People who only live to take from others have very heavy hearts and sad lives. Well, I must get back to work," said the Elf briskly. "It's been very nice meeting you all, and I do hope you will return again to see us." "Thank you," said Dorothy. "You've been very kind, and we enjoyed hearing your philosophy," said the Scarecrow. "Well, thank you," said the Elf. "We try to keep life simple; if it gets too complicated, too many problems start appearing." "Oh, before you go," said Dorothy, "can you tell us about Thoughtformland and Americanindianland?"