Saying that some one has been taken short means that they have gone to the toilet.
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Apparently "taken short" is a British term for having to use the bathroom when you don't have facilities around. Based on several searches I done, in Lord of the Flies, it refers to having diarrhea. (They told the Littluns not to pick fruit if they are "taken short" because it's dirty.) While some of the boys do apparently suffer from diarrhoea (from eating unripe fruit) "taken short" is just a generalised term for needing to urinate or defecate when you are unable to reach a toilet. I think that the reference to being taken short was to remind the littleuns not to urinate or defecate near the fruit trees or water source as it was "dirty."
Ralph gives Piggy the job of looking after the littluns in chapter six, Beast From Air, while the rest of the biguns go to look for the beast.Piggy stays behind and watches the littleluns when the others go out to hunt for the beast
It refers to the sled he had as a little boy when he was taken away from his parents. That time was the only time in his life that he was truly happy.
They have superficial similarities. Both are capable leaders but employ completely different leadership styles. Both are boys of action who like to put decisions into effect immediately they are taken. They are two of the oldest and tallest boys on the island. There the similarities end. Jack is skinny, bony, has red hair, freckles and is 'ugly without silliness.' Ralph has fair hair, is tall, broad shouldered and has an 'attractive appearance.' Jack has only two motivations behind all of his actions and words; to be leader and to hunt (and kill). Every thing he does is motivated by achieving these aims. Jack wishes to issue orders and have them obeyed under threat of physical violence and punishment. Ralph leads by consensus of opinion, he holds meetings where plans are but forwards and agreed to by all. Ralph shows some consideration towards the littluns, leaving Piggy to look after them when the biguns go off to hunt the beast. In comparison when Robert says that to play the pig hunting game they needed a real pig in order to kill it Jack suggested using a littlun, which all the other boys assumed was a joke. Ralph is honest, compared to Jack who lied when he said that Ralph had called the hunters cowards. Even though he was the leader Ralph was prepared to pitch in and do work on the shelters while Jack, as chief of his tribe, expected to be waited on by the other boys. Both boys seem to judge others by their own standards. Ralph assumed that Jack, like himself, was honest, fair and friendly. Jack assumed that after Piggy's death Ralph still posed a threat to his own leadership because he had earlier plotted to overthrow Ralph's leadership he assumed Ralph would think the same way. Ralph had a sense of responsibility; thinking of building shelters, allocating a toilet area, collecting water and keeping a signal fire lit. Jack was entirely self centered judging everyone and everything in terms of usefulness to his own needs and desires. In a nutshell Ralph was a genuine good guy and Jack was as bad as they come.
This can be taken in a couple ways. First off, it may have just seemed like a small cut so it did not bother Ralph. However, the more inferential meaning could be that he was so frustrated with the boys for throwing rocks in the water, that he was not focusing on the pain of his knuckles, but rather the annoyance that Jack and the boys were causing. Hope that helps :)