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

Enlarge this image toggle caption Hannah Peters/Getty Images Hannah Peters/Getty Images

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 letter to the girl, identified only as Victoria.

toggle caption Reddit screenshot by NPR

"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??"