Ralph was searching his mind for simple words so that even the littluns would understand what the assembly was about. Later perhaps, practised debaters-Jack, Maurice, Piggy, would use their whole art to twist the meeting; but now at the beginning the subject of the debate must be laid out clearly.
"We need an assembly. Not for fun. Not for laughing and falling off the log"- the group of littluns on the twister giggled and looked at each other - "not for making jokes, or for" -he lifted the conch in an effort to find the compelling word- "for cleverness. Not for these things. But to put things straight."
