You just saying that gave me this fun image: Us being stuck on a puzzle is basically Bench-Guybrush having a hard time remembering.
“And then I put the spicy fish in the bucket!“
“But how did you survive eating spicy fish yourself?“
“I didn‘t.“
“So what then?“
“Well, er, then I was going from island to island, looking for a glass of milk. So, uh… I looked everywhere… hmm… Then I went back to Brrr Muda, to see if I can do something with the fish bucket. Nothing… So…“
And looking in the hint book is basically Bench-Guybrush‘s brain remembering again.