What was Celery like as a boy?

Growing up as a vegetarian in the 1600s was not an easy task. No-one, apart from cows and sheep, preferred vegetable to meat. As a result, young Horatio was teased at school and often had lumps of raw meat thrown at him or hidden in his satchel.

To escape the torture, Celery decided to get strong and fit so he could beat off his tormentors. He ran 10 miles every day and practised his climbing skills by scaling the rigging of the tallest ships in Bristol docks. Once his body was built up he started to work on his brain. He read loads of books whilst other boys were playing games and always stayed behind in class to talk to the teachers.

He would go out of his way to learn everything there was to know about the world and the people who lived in it. He memorised every sea chart, every island and every ship that ever sailed. He became a great swordsman whom no-one could beat and the craftiest person in the land, using his great wit to trick and cheat anyone who dared cross him, as Captain Firebeard would find out when their paths cross in the children’s pirate book Captain Celery.