“Hej! My name is Elsie and I am 8 years old and live on a farm,” the girl’s letter reads, sent to the county administrative board in Jönköping, southern Sweden, a few weeks before the holidays.

“I want a unicorn but my mum and dad say that I need to ask you for permission. Please can I have permission to have a unicorn at home if we find some or if I get some for Christmas? Please answer quickly!”

A few days later, Elsie received a signed letter from Helena Jonsson, Jönköping county governor, informing her that her permit had been granted.

“We approve your permit for unicorn ownership on one condition, that you look after it/them well,” Jonsson wrote, before adding that she’d like Elsie to send her a picture if she finds a unicorn or gets one for Christmas.

…

“What kind of excuse can I come up with now?” Elsie’s mother wrote in her Facebook post. “And what kind of stable does it need?”

Elsie’s not the first child ever to be granted a permit to keep unicorns, though.

In 2022, a young girl in California named Madeline was given permission by the LA County Department of Animal Care and Control to keep a pet unicorn, as long as she promised to look after it, by giving it “regular access to sunlight, moonbeams and rainbows”, feeding it watermelon at least once a week, and promising to polish its horn at least once a month with a soft cloth.