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

95. THE CAT AND THE BIRDS
Perry 389 (pseudo-Dositheus, Hermeneumata)

The cat pretended that it was his birthday and invited the birds to a party. When the birds had come in, the cat seized the opportunity: he shut the doors of his house and proceeded to devour the birds one after another.
This fable can be applied to people who set off with high hopes of something pleasant but who actually experience the exact opposite.

Note: The cat is replaced by a bird in other versions of the fable; see Fable 96 (following).

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.