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

552. THE SNAKE AND THE THORN BUSH
Perry 96 (Chambry 115 *)

There was a grapevine next to a river, and a thorn bush had been planted as a fence around the vine. When the river rose, the thorn bush was swept away by the water, and a snake who had entwined himself in the thorns was also carried away. When someone saw the snake riding on the thorn bush, he said, 'A wicked ship, and worthy of its sailor!'
The story shows that a wicked person deservedly comes to a bad end by keeping company with other wicked people.

Note: In other versions of this story (included in Chambry's first edition of the Greek fables), it is a fox who makes fun of the thorn bush and the snake.

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.