diff --git a/reference/simplexml/simplexmlelement/count.xml b/reference/simplexml/simplexmlelement/count.xml
index de0d04df7d..bea5ddff5e 100644
--- a/reference/simplexml/simplexmlelement/count.xml
+++ b/reference/simplexml/simplexmlelement/count.xml
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
     <title>Counting the number of children</title>
     <programlisting role="php">
 <![CDATA[
+<?php
 $xml = <<<EOF
 <people>
  <person name="Person 1">