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Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)

235. THE LION, THE ROOSTER AND THE DONKEY
Perry 82 (Chambry 269 *)

A donkey and a rooster lived together on a farm. A lion who had noticed the donkey crept up and was about to pounce when the rooster let loose a squawk. This frightened the lion (for they say that lions are terrified of the rooster's crowing) and he turned tail and ran. The donkey was elated at the thought of the lion running away from a rooster. He took off in pursuit of the lion but when the donkey had gone some distance away from the farm, the lion turned around and ate him.
The same thing happens to people: when someone sees his enemies humbled, he becomes presumptuous, and this makes it possible for his enemies to destroy him before he even realizes what is happening.

Note: For another story about the lion's fear of the rooster, see Fable 247.

Source: Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura Gibbs. Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.