Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our spring member drive has ended, but it's not too late to give. You have the power to help fund the essential journalism that keeps us all informed. Help us close the gap on our spring fundraising goal! GIVE NOW

New Zealand Girl Sends Prime Minister $5 'Bribe' To Fund Dragon Research

New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said in a letter that her administration is not actively pursuing dragon research or telekinesis studies.
Hannah Peters
/
Getty Images
New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said in a letter that her administration is not actively pursuing dragon research or telekinesis studies.

Bazillions of adult Game of Thrones fans may currently be preoccupied with dragons, and the mother of dragons and that giant dragon-killing-dart machine — but one girl in New Zealand is trying to get serious about the real-life study of dragons.

So much so that the 11-year-old recently tried to tempt Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern into launching a dragon research program, with a little bit of telekinesis studies on the side.

It's so she can grow up to be a dragon trainer. And she included some seed money with her request: a $5 New Zealand note.

Unfortunately, the prime minister could not be bought. She said it was a no-go.

"We were very interested to hear your suggestions about psychics and dragons, but unfortunately we are not currently doing any work in either of these areas!" Ardern wrote in a letterto the girl, identified only as Victoria.

A person who says he is Victoria's brother posted the letter from Ardern on Reddit. "P.S. I'll still keep an eye out for those dragons. Do they wear suits??" the prime minister wrote.
/ Reddit screenshot by NPR
/
Reddit screenshot by NPR
A person who says he is Victoria's brother posted the letter from Ardern on Reddit. "P.S. I'll still keep an eye out for those dragons. Do they wear suits??" the prime minister wrote.

"I am therefore returning your bribe money, and I wish you all the very best in your quest for telekinesis, telepathy, and dragons," the prime minister concluded.

A photo of the official letter — and the returned cash — first appeared on Reddit late last week, posted by a user who said his little sister had tried to "bribe Jacinda."

After some prompting, he explained that the girl "wanted the government to make her telekinetic when they are able, and wanted to find out what they know about dragons and if they had found any yet, so she could train them."

Apparently she got the idea about developing telepathic communication with dragons from the Netflix show Stranger Things, in which one of the lead characters — a young girl — has telepathic powers, her brother said.

Ardern's letter ended with an encouraging handwritten postscript: "P.S. I'll still keep an eye out for those dragons. Do they wear suits??"

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.