Then thecocoa-nuts would be ripe for picking, and her cousins (like all the natives,Ata had a host of relatives) would swarm up the trees and throw down the bigripe nuts. They split them open and put them in the sun to dry. Then they cutout the copra and put it into sacks, and the women would carry it down to thetrader at the village by the lagoon, and he would give in exchange for it riceand soap and tinned meat and a little money. Sometimes there would be a feastin the neighbourhood, and a pig would be killed. Then they would go and eatthemselves sick, and dance, and sing hymns.But the housewas a long way from the village, and the Tahitians are lazy. They love totravel and they love to gossip, but they do not care to walk, and for weeks ata time Strickland and Ata lived alone. He painted and he read, and in theevening, when it was dark, they sat together on the verandah, smoking andlooking at the night. Then Ata had a baby, and the old woman who came up tohelp her through her trouble stayed on. Presently the granddaughter of the oldwoman came to stay with her, and then a youth appeared -- no one quite knewwhere from or to whom he belonged -- but he settled down with them in ahappy-go-lucky way, and they all lived together,不久以后，椰子成熟，就该到采摘的时候了。爱塔的表兄表弟、堂兄堂弟（象所有的土人一样，她的亲戚数也数不过来）成群结队地爬到树上去，把成熟的大椰子扔下来。他们把椰子剖开，放在太阳底下晒。晒干以后就把椰肉取出来，装在口袋里。妇女们把一袋袋的椰肉运到咸水湖附近一个村落的贸易商人那里，换回来大米、肥皂、罐头肉和一点点儿钱。有时候邻村有什么庆贺宴会，就要杀猪。附近的人蜂拥到那里，又是跳舞，又是唱赞美诗，大吃大喝一顿，吃得人人都快要呕吐了。但是他们的房子离附近的村子很远，塔希提的人是不喜欢活动的。他们喜欢旅行，喜欢闲聊天，就是不喜欢走路。有时候一连几个星期也没有人到思特里克兰德同爱塔家里来。思特里克兰德画画儿、看书，天黑了以后，就同爱塔一起坐在凉台上，一边抽烟一边望着天空。后来爱塔给他生了一个孩子。生孩子的时候来服侍她的一个老婆婆待下来，一直也没有走。不久，老婆婆的一个孙女也来同他们住在一起，后来又来了个小伙子——谁也不清楚这个人从哪儿来，同哪个人有亲属关系——，他也毫无牵挂地在这里落了户。就这样他们逐渐成了个大家庭。