diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java
index 8407c763e..7c6d87d16 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Main.java
@@ -575,6 +575,7 @@ public class Main {
 
             int indexOfDefDesc = topNames.indexOf(defaultTarget);
             if (indexOfDefDesc >= 0) {
+                defaultDesc = new Vector();
                 defaultDesc.addElement(topDescriptions.elementAt(indexOfDefDesc));
             }
             printTargets(defaultName, defaultDesc, "Default target:", maxLength);