The Devil's Bridge or how the villagers outsmarted the devil

In the past, the farmers from the hamlet of Ninane and the surrounding hamlets would travel to the city via the Vesder Valley. To reach Chaudfontaine, there was only one accessible road, and in the middle of it, they had to use a rudimentary bridge.

However, one beautiful morning, the farmers noticed that the bridge in question had collapsed. After a whole day of complaining and considering the situation, the desperate farmers decided to return home by evening. At that moment, the devil appeared in a whirlpool of flames. The farmers trembled with fear and heard Satan offer them the following deal: “Tomorrow morning, the bridge will be rebuilt. But as compensation, I ask you to give me the soul of the first being that crosses the new bridge.”

The farmers, essentially Christians, refused. Time passed, and soon misery arose. Driven by hunger, the farmers returned to the destroyed bridge and accepted the deal offered by Satan. The next day, they discovered the rebuilt bridge and Satan waiting for his victim. They conferred and then placed a large sack at the entrance of the bridge from which a beautiful goat escaped, quickly throwing itself into the arms of the devil. The latter, cheated, turned back, screaming to the eternal fire of his cursed kingdom.

Jan Rymenams