1diff --git a/lib/Stow.pm.in b/lib/Stow.pm.in
2index 101a422..f80b1ac 100755
3--- a/lib/Stow.pm.in
4+++ b/lib/Stow.pm.in
5@@ -1732,8 +1732,8 @@ sub read_a_link {
6 }
7 elsif (-l $path) {
8 debug(4, " read_a_link($path): real link");
9- return readlink $path
10- or error("Could not read link: $path");
11+ my $target = readlink $path or error("Could not read link: $path ($!)");
12+ return $target;
13 }
14 internal_error("read_a_link() passed a non link path: $path\n");
15 }