Every village in France is under the influence of some protecting saint, modelled according to the characteristics of the inhabitants.

Saint Michael watches over Lower Normandy, Saint Michael, the radiant and victorious angel, the sword-carrier, the hero of Heaven, the victorious, the conqueror of Satan.

But this is how the Lower Normandy peasant, cunning, deceitful and tricky, understands and tells of the struggle between the great saint and the devil.

To escape from the malice of his neighbor, the devil, Saint Michael built himself, in the open ocean, this habitation worthy of an archangel; and only such a saint could build a residence of such magnificence.

But as he still feared the approaches of the wicked one, he surrounded his domains by quicksands, more treacherous even than the sea.

The devil lived in a humble cottage on the hill, but he owned all the salt marshes, the rich lands where grow the finest crops, the wooded valleys and all the fertile hills of the country, while the saint a ruled only over the sands.  Therefore Satan was rich, whereas Saint Michael was as poor as a church mouse.

After a few years of fasting the saint grew tired of this state of affairs and began to think of some compromise with the devil, but the matter was by no means easy, as Satan kept a good hold on his crops.

He thought the thing over for about six months; then one morning he walked across to the shore.  The demon was eating his soup in front of his door when he saw the saint.  He immediately rushed toward him, kissed the hem of his sleeve, invited him in and offered him refreshments.

Saint Michael drank a bowl of milk and then began:  “I have come here to propose to you a good bargain.”

The devil, candid and trustful, answered:  “That will suit me.”

“Here it is.  Give me all your lands.”

Satan, growing alarmed, wished to speak “But—­”

She saint continued:  “Listen first.  Give me all your lands.  I will take care of all the work, the ploughing, the sowing, the fertilizing, everything, and we will share the crops equally.  How does that suit you?”

The devil, who was naturally lazy, accepted.  He only demanded in addition a few of those delicious gray mullet which are caught around the solitary mount.  Saint Michael promised the fish.

They grasped hands and spat on the ground to show that it was a bargain, and the saint continued:  “See here, so that you will have nothing to complain of, choose that part of the crops which you prefer:  the part that grows above ground or the part that stays in the ground.”  Satan cried out:  “I will take all that will be above ground.”

“It’s a bargain!” said the saint.  And he went away.

Six months later, all over the immense domain of the devil, one could see nothing but carrots, turnips, onions, salsify, all the plants whose juicy roots are good and savory and whose useless leaves are good for nothing but for feeding animals.