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

315. THE WITCH ON TRIAL
Perry 56 (Chambry 91 *)

There was a witch who claimed to be able to perform magic ceremonies to avert divine wrath. She was often employed for such purposes and earned a considerable profit in this line of work. Certain people then accused her of sacrilege. The woman was arrested and condemned to death. As they were leading her away, someone saw her and said, 'You claimed to be able to turn aside the anger of the gods, so why weren't you able to ward off the plans of mere mortals?'
The fable shows that people often make extravagant promises which they are completely unable to carry out.

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.