diff --git a/lib/xml-stream.js b/lib/xml-stream.js
index 7121ffd..62a7991 100644
--- a/lib/xml-stream.js
+++ b/lib/xml-stream.js
@@ -110,6 +110,11 @@ XmlStream.prototype = Object.create(events.EventEmitter.prototype, {
 // * `ancestor descendant`
 // * `parent > child`
 XmlStream.prototype.on = function(eventName, listener) {
+  if (eventName === 'error') {
+    XmlStream.super_.prototype.on.call(this, eventName, listener);
+    return this;
+  }
+
   var event = parseEvent(eventName);
   if (event !== null) {
     // If we're dealing with a selector event,