Before his arrival in Apia, Stevenson's tale of "The Bottle Imp" had
been translated into Samoan by the missionaries. When the natives
discovered he was its author they immediately named him Tusitala, The
Teller-of-Tales. He still owned the bottle, they said; it was that gave
him the wealth to cruise about in a great boat and build a fine house.
The family often wondered why native visitors were curious to see the
inside of the great safe in the hall at Vailima until they found that it
was the belief among the islanders that the safe was the bottle's
hiding-place.
Mrs. Stevenson, senior, returned with Lloyd from England, and later Mrs.
Strong and her small son, Austin, came from Honolulu to make the family
complete.
The servants were all natives, "boys" as they called themselves. There
were usually about half a dozen about the house, with a boy for the
garden and to look after the cows and pigs, besides a band of outside
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