The Legend of the Bessans Devil

The work was making little progress, and winter was getting closer and closer. The unfortunate Bessannais lamented and, to crown all his torments, two days before the bridge was due to be delivered, his workers quit.
This was too big a blow for him: he'd never be able to finish the bridge on his own, and if he didn't fulfill his contract, he'd be imprisoned in one of the two forts or, worse still, deported to Piedmont!

- What will become of me, he cried.
This bridge will be the death of me if I don't finish it by tomorrow. God knows if I'll ever see my wife and my sweet village of Bessans again? What am I saying, God? Only the Devil can help me.

Coming up the Modane road, a tall man in a wide-brimmed hat, as was common in the region, approached Joseph.

"- What are you lamenting, my friend?
- Don't talk to me about it, stranger, I have to finish this bridge before tomorrow, the work isn't progressing and all my workers have left me.
- It's no big deal, it can still be fixed.
- But I'll never manage it and they'll throw me in prison.
- You called on the Devil to help you, and he sent me to help you. You want to avoid prison, so sign this paper and your bridge will be built tomorrow at the appointed time, and you'll be able to return to Bessans with all the honors and money they'll give you.
Joseph, the contractor, was not reassured. But going to prison in Turin didn't appeal to him. After some thought, he said to Satan's envoy:
- All right, I'll sign, but it sounds too good to be true! What do you want in return?
- Well, tomorrow the bridge will be built, but on one condition: the first person to cross the bridge will belong to my master."

Joseph was distraught; to do such a thing seemed unthinkable! But the fear of rotting in prison with the rats was stronger, and... he signed...

When he returned to Bessans, his wife thought he looked tormented, and after much questioning, he finally confessed the whole story to her.

- Don't worry, Joseph, we'll find a way to stop the Devil from doing this sinister deed!

And the next morning, when Joseph and his wife arrived near the forts, they were surprised to see a magnificent bridge of fine cut stone, spanning the Arc more than a hundred meters above the water.
On the other hand, when they looked across the bridge, they were startled to see a monstrous beast, its mouth wide open with horribly long teeth, and a lion's mane on its head, with two large, pointed horns protruding from it - it was the Devil!... He was waiting for the first person to cross the bridge.

- Mon Dieu! Marie! The man wasn't lying; the bridge is there, but so is the Devil! What are we going to do, my God? What are we going to do?

A whole troop of soldiers was already approaching from Modane, on their way to the fort via the bridge. Leading them was a little drummer, a 12-year-old boy who was proud to have been chosen to go first.

- That poor kid! He's going to be the victim," lamented Joseph.
- It can't be!

Just then, a few steps away, Mary spotted a herd of goats grazing among the rocks, and in the middle of the herd: a billy goat! But not just any little goat. No, a big black goat, with shiny hooves and fearsome horns. Marie had an idea: picking up a stick lying on the path, she pushed the goats aside and, coming up behind the goat, gave it such a blow that it shot off like an arrow in the direction of the bridge. The goat stopped dead before crossing... On the other side, he had seen the beast!...

Another billy goat, thought the animal, as he caught sight of the monster's two horns; he wanted to take my goats!

He rushed at it so hard that his two horns pierced the beast's head, leaving them planted on the monster's skull.

From that day on, the Devil was never seen again in the region, but since then, in Bessans, he's been wearing four horns.

Many years have passed since this story was told, and the beautiful stone bridge has long since collapsed. It was replaced by an iron footbridge, but it's still called " Le Pont du Diable" (The Devil's Bridge).