diff --git a/contrib/hg-to-git/hg-to-git.py b/contrib/hg-to-git/hg-to-git.py
index c35b15860..d72ffbb77 100755
--- a/contrib/hg-to-git/hg-to-git.py
+++ b/contrib/hg-to-git/hg-to-git.py
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ def getgitenv(user, date):
 hgbranch["0"] = "master"
 for cset in range(1, int(tip) + 1):
     hgchildren[str(cset)] = ()
-    prnts = os.popen('hg log -r %d --template "{parents}"' % cset).read().split(' ')
+    prnts = os.popen('hg log -r %d --template "{parents}"' % cset).read().strip().split(' ')
     prnts = map(lambda x: x[:x.find(':')], prnts)
     if prnts[0] != '':
         parent = prnts[0].strip()