The Fox's Just Deserts

The sly fox liked to stretch out on the ground, pretending to be dead; it was her trick for catching birds. She would lie there in a muddy field,  waiting for crows and other scavengers to alight on her body. Then, as soon as they landed, the fox would spring up, grab the birds, and devour them.

One day, however, a dog ran up and began tearing at the supposedly dead fox with his teeth. Groaning in agony, the fox exclaimed, "This is what I deserve: I used my wiles to catch the birds, and now I myself am caught."

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Inspired by: Mille Fabulae et Una, a collection of Latin fables that I've edited, free to read online. I am not translating the Latin here; instead, I am just telling a 100-word version of the fable.
Notes: This is fable 52. Vulpes Mortem Simulans et Canis in the book, which is not in Perry, but which is based on a common motif in the medieval bestiary tradition.

bestiary illustration