diff --git a/git-clone.sh b/git-clone.sh
index ecf9d89a10..96a356d8b3 100755
--- a/git-clone.sh
+++ b/git-clone.sh
@@ -297,7 +297,8 @@ yes)
 				      find objects -type f -print | sed -e 1q)
 			# objects directory should not be empty because
 			# we are cloning!
-			test -f "$repo/$sample_file" || exit
+			test -f "$repo/$sample_file" ||
+				die "fatal: cannot clone empty repository"
 			if ln "$repo/$sample_file" "$GIT_DIR/objects/sample" 2>/dev/null
 			then
 				rm -f "$GIT_DIR/objects/sample"