22nd July Lion's Share Day

 Lion's Share Day is celebrated on 22nd July.  In the 6th century BC, Aesop's Fables were written by a formerly enslaved Greek, and the phrase "the lion's share" was born. Its meaning refers to the biggest share or special treatment of something divided between different parties. Yet, the moral of the story is mostly seen as being cautious when dealing with someone much stronger! After all, the lion is the king of the jungle.

A "lion's share" is an idiom meaning "the largest part of something divided amongst other people." It comes from the fable The Lion's Share where a lion goes hunting with a fox, jackal, and wolf. After making a kill, the lion asserts his status, strength, and bravery to demand all four quarters of the stag for himself, leaving nothing for his partners. 

                      

To celebrate this day read the original Aesop's fable which you will find in many fable anthologies. The library has a large collection. Last term I shared several fables with Year 1 students and they became very good at ascertaining the intended message and identifying idioms.  

The library also has these books which also illustrate the idiom.

• The Lion's Share  by Martha Lightfoot

Lion always wants more than everyone else, and he thinks it's only fair that he gets the most! But will he still want the Lion's share when all the fun is over?

• Lionel and the Lion's Share  by Lou Peacock & Lisa Sheehan

Lionel the lion does NOT like to share. After all, lions always get the lion's share. He buys all the best instruments from the music ship, all the smartest hats from the hat shop and all the brightest balloons from the balloon stall. But at Chloe's birthday party Lionel goes too far and eats ALL the cake. That's when Lionel's friends decide that enough is enough.

• The Lion's Share  by Said Salah Ahmed & Kelly Dupre

A Somali-English Bilingual Children's Picture Book. The hungry animals of the Somali forest have worked together to kill a big fat camel. Now they must decide how to divide it. Will the portions be equal? Not with the lion in charge! Read this popular Somali fable and see why, as the other animals come to understand, "the lion's share is not fair!"

• The Lion's Share by Matthew McElligott 

When Ant receives a special invitation to dine with Lion, she is ready to be on her best behavior. During dessert, the other guests do not mind their manners, and by the time the dessert cake reaches Ant, barely a crumb is left for her to share with the King! Baking a cake seems like the perfect way to make it up to him . . . until the other guests turn her kind gesture into a contest. Exactly how many cakes are fit for a king?