diff --git a/Modules/cPickle.c b/Modules/cPickle.c
index e05f99b..3bf9ba1 100644
--- a/Modules/cPickle.c
+++ b/Modules/cPickle.c
@@ -3087,7 +3087,7 @@
     char *s;
 
     if ((l = (*self->readline_func)(self, &s)) < 0) return -1;
-    if (len < 2) return bad_readline();
+    if (l < 2) return bad_readline();
     UNLESS (len=self->stack->length) return stackUnderflow();
     UNLESS (py_str = PyString_FromStringAndSize(s, l - 1)) return -1;
     value=self->stack->data[len-1];