Sleeping Lions is a children's game.

All but one or two players are "lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

s", and lie down on the floor, eyes closed, as if they were sleeping. The remaining one or two players ("hunters") move about the room attempting to encourage the lions to move. The hunters can't touch the lions, but may move close to them, tell things to them, jokes, etc. Any person who moves must stand up and join the hunters.

Sleeping lions is also sometimes used in schools as an exercise. All the children will play "lions" and the teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

will play the "hunter". Usually in this case the teacher will make no effort to make the "lions" move, because in this case the real aim of the "game" is to calm the children down after playing other exciting games.

Variations of the game can include: dead soldiers, sleeping logs, standing scarecrows, resting tigers.