diff --git a/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/model/io/HWPFFileSystem.java b/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/model/io/HWPFFileSystem.java
index 723391e15..5afc2a131 100644
--- a/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/model/io/HWPFFileSystem.java
+++ b/src/scratchpad/src/org/apache/poi/hwpf/model/io/HWPFFileSystem.java
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import java.util.HashMap;
 
 public class HWPFFileSystem
 {
-  HashMap _streams;
+  HashMap _streams = new HashMap();
 
   public HWPFFileSystem()
   {