MOLDOVA
Man’s Best Friend
The Roman prince Dragos had been
hunting a wisent, or a wild bison, for
many days. His companions, including
several hunting dogs, chased the animal
until they were spent. Disappointed
that his quarry would escape, Dragos’s
spirits were uplifted when his favorite dog
Molda continued on with the hunt. Molda
kept tracking the bison’s scent until man
and man’s best friend cornered the wild
animal near the banks of a river.
A vicious fight ensued, and when it was
over, the bison was dead, and so was
Molda. Dragos was so saddened by the
loss of his faithful companion that he
named the surrounding lands after her.
Some sources mention only the bison
and the story of the hunt; others add the
prince’s dog as part of the tale. Still, the
legend of the hunt became symbolic for
the country—even its flag contains the
image of the bison.
CANADA
Little Villages And Mostly
Nothing At All
When the French explorer Jacques
Cartier sailed past the St. Lawrence River,
his native guides remarked that this was
the route to “Kanata“—a village. It was.
But no native tribes called themselves
the Kanata; it was simply what they called
assorted villages as they migrated across
the vast, snowy wilderness. Cartier
probably misheard the term and called
the land “Canada” instead.
Another tale, albeit less popular, involves
the Spaniards once more. The story tells
of how the explorers were looking for
fabled riches in the Americas. When they
found none, they called the place “aca
nada” or “ca nada” (meaning “nothing
here“). When the French arrived years
later, natives shouted “aca nada!” to tell
them there was nothing of importance for
the colonizers. The French, thinking it was
the name of the country, ended up calling
it “Canada.”
Combining the two stories perhaps
illustrates what modern-day Canada is
like—villages (towns and cities), and a
whole bunch of unpopulated wilderness
in between.
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