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

438. THE LION AND THE FARMER
Perry 144 (Chambry 197)

A lion entered a farmer's yard and the farmer, wanting to capture the lion, shut the outer gate. The lion, unable to get out, first devoured all the sheep and then turned his attention to the cattle. The farmer became afraid for his own safety so he opened the door. After the lion had gone away, the farmer's wife saw the farmer groaning and said to him, 'It serves you right! Why did you want to shut yourself up with the sort of creature you should run away from even at a distance?'
In the same way people who provoke those stronger than themselves must naturally suffer the consequences of their mistake.

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.