"It's stupid, but we're so happy when she shits": in Fressin, the dung lottery is doing a lot of good

"Come on, girl, let's go!" Nicolas Lemaire, a goat farmer in Fressin (Pas-de-Calais), ushers his cow into a pasture by pushing her firmly from behind. In the grass, 500 one-square-meter squares have been marked out in white paint, using a device loaned by the local football club.

On Sunday, July 27, the village of just under 600 inhabitants, nestled between Montreuil-sur-Mer and Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, is holding its first ever dung lottery. As the event takes place on a historic site—amid the ruins of a fortress built at the beginning of the 15th century—the star of the day makes his entrance to medieval-inspired music. The principle is simple: players bet on one or more squares; if the ruminant drops its dung there, they win one of three prizes.

It's 2:30 p.m. when the young 300-kilo animal, who goes by the sweet name of Victoire, takes her first walk around the grounds under the watchful eye of Alice, 10, the breeder's daughter. She received this little brown Jersey girl for her birthday last year.

At the start of the afternoon, it is François, the host at the microphone, who is in charge of the sound: "Loto bouse, the lotto that splashes you!" he shouts to everyone, dressed in a hand-sewn medieval costume. One of the