The Fowler and the Viper
A fowler, taking his birdlime and his twigs, went out to catch birds. Seeing a thrush sitting upon a tree, he wished to capture it, and fitting his twigs to a proper length, he watched intently, having his whole thoughts directed towards the sky.
While thus looking upwards, he unawares trod upon a viper asleep, just before his feet. The viper, turning towards him, bit him, and he, falling into a swoon, said to himself; "Woe is me! That while I tried to hunt another, I am myself fallen unawares into the snares of death."