The Lion’s Share

What luck on such a bright day! The beasts of prey were hunting together in the forests of Somalia. Late in the afternoon they found a big fat camel

The beasts attacked and, chasing the camel away from the rest of the herd, they caught it and killed it.

Then, together, they dragged the camel’s body under a shady acacia tree at the dry riverbed.

Gathering around their kill, each of them waited patiently for a bite. In spite of their hunger, none dared to touch the meat without the lion’s permission. The lion roared, raising his bushy mane to warn the animals not to eat before he gave his approval. All were silent.

Picking the eldest of the hyenas, the lion ordered, “You! Ali with the short leg, you suggest the best way of dividing the meat among the clan.”

The hyena moved forward. “Yes, my lord.” He thought for a moment and said, “Of the whole camel, half and half: half is for our king.” He cleared his throat and said, “And the other half is for the rest of us to divide fairly among us.”

The mighty lion suddenly jumped at the old hyena and slapped his face. The hyena’s eye fell out of its socket.

He limped away in disgrace and the rest of the hyenas followed him.

The lion roared again and said, “You see, Ali the hyena did not know the proper way of dividing the meat among us.” He glared at the other animals and finally pointed to the fox. “You! Dayo the lady fox, let us see if you do better than that unwise hyena in dividing the meat.”

The fox crawled forward with fear and looked at the rest of the frightened beasts. She bowed before the king and whispered, “Very well, half and half: half of the camel meat will go to our great king. And the other half…,” she paused as the lion interrupted her with a fierce look. But the fox quickly continued, “Of the other half, quarter and quarter: one quarter is also for our noble king. Of the other quarter, one-eighth and one-eighth: one-eighth is for the beloved king. Of the other eighth, one-sixteenth…”