Eddy slept with the scent of imaginary celery in his nostrils.

The next morning, he woke to the smell of fish.

Was this breakfast? He was starving. He jumped out of his hammock and looked around for signs of the catch. But there were none. Not so much as a sprat.

The Crew was asleep under a blanket on the deck. The Penguin was flat on his back, snoring gently. There was a loud BUMP as the Captain fell out of his hammock. His cabin door opened and he stepped out onto the deck, nostrils twitching.

“Fish?” he said.

The Crew opened her eyes.

“Fish? I’ll find my frying pan.”

“I can smell fish,” said Eddy, “but I can’t see any.”

The Captain rubbed a finger across the deck. It came up shining in the morning sun.

“Fish scales,” he said. “Fish have been here, where now fish are not. And as they do not usually jump out of the sea for a midnight stroll, someone must have brought them here. And if that someone wasn’t one of you two…PINWING!!!!”

The Penguin sat up sharply.

“What do you know about this fishy fish business?” said the Captain.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” said the Penguin.

“Someone has been smuggling fish on board,” said the Captain, “and I want to know who, how, what, why, when and where.”

“Tut tut,” said the Penguin. “Dear dear.” And he burped.

The fishy smell wafted even more strongly across the deck.

“Aha!” said the Captain. “Let me smell your breath.”

“I don’t recommend it,” spluttered the Penguin. “Brushing and flossing isn’t my strong point – not with these flippers. You’re not going to find a hint of mint.”

The Captain bent over the Penguin and breathed deeply.

“Stinky fish!” he shouted, staggering backwards. “You stink of fish. You’re as fishy as an octopus’s armpit. What have you been eating?”

“A Pirate Picnic, same as you. Imaginary ocean snacks.”

“We can all smell them.”

“Well, I’ve got a very vivid imagination.”

“The only thing round here that’s fishier than your breath is your explanation.”

“Oh, all right,” said the Penguin. “What do you expect? I’m a penguin. When I’m hungry, I catch fish. Then I eat fish. Last night I was hungry. It’s in my nature – you know what they say, fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly. Except that in my case, they were completely wrong about the flying part. I’ve gotta go fishing. It’s just what I do. And anyway, what’s the big problem?”

“You didn’t share with the rest of us,” said the Captain.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Well,” said the Penguin. “You didn’t give me any of your celery.”

“Hrrump!” hrrumped the Captain.

“Grrump!” grrumped the Penguin.

“Pardon me if I’m speaking out of turn, Captain dearie,” said the Crew, “but as Not Very Able Seaman Penguin has turned out to be Extremely Able Fisherman Penguin, and as we all want breakfast, why don’t you make him our official supplier of fish?”

“Now that is an excellent idea,” said the Captain. “Well, Pinwing, do you reckon you’re up to the job?”

“Piece of cake,” said the Penguin, slipping over the side of the ship. “Fishcake, that is,” he added, as he plunged into the water.

“I’ll just fetch that frying pan,” said the Crew. “It’s in my rucksack somewhere.”

Before long, the Codcakers were sitting down to a delicious breakfast. Eddy soon felt full. And he didn’t have to think of celery even once.

As soon as he had finished, Eddy checked the map. The drawing of The Codcake was getting very close to the Island of Words – a comma of land with a fat round body curling into a trim tail. He looked out to sea and…

“Hey, everybody! I can see the island!” Eddy shouted.

“No, no, no,” said the Captain. “The words are ‘Land ahoy!’ Say it properly.”

“Sorry,” said Eddy. “Land ahoy!”

The Captain raised his telescope to his eye.

“That must be the Poet Tree,” he said, “because it’s the only tree on the island. It’s right on the end point of the pointy end, and the pointy end is surrounded by even pointier rocks sticking out of the sea. There’s no way to get the boat ashore there, but there’s a lovely beach on the fat side, with some clumps of tall grass. So we’ll land there and walk to the tree. Should be easy.”

They would soon find out how wrong he was.