diff --git a/lib/haml/template.rb b/lib/haml/template.rb
index d12b38f4..0e400666 100644
--- a/lib/haml/template.rb
+++ b/lib/haml/template.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ if defined?(RAILS_ROOT)
   # because the new init file is sufficiently flexible
   # to not need updating.
   rails_init_file = File.join(RAILS_ROOT, 'vendor', 'plugins', 'haml', 'init.rb')
-  haml_init_file = Haml.scope('init.rb')
+  haml_init_file = Haml::Util.scope('init.rb')
   begin
     if File.exists?(rails_init_file)
       require 'fileutils'
diff --git a/lib/haml/util.rb b/lib/haml/util.rb
index 7b37db8f..e7e123b1 100644
--- a/lib/haml/util.rb
+++ b/lib/haml/util.rb
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@ module Haml
 
     RUBY_VERSION = ::RUBY_VERSION.split(".").map {|s| s.to_i}
 
+    # Returns the path of file relative to the Haml root.
+    def scope(file)
+      File.expand_path File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', '..', file)
+    end
+
     def to_hash(arr)
       arr.compact.inject({}) {|h, (k, v)| h[k] = v; h}
     end
diff --git a/lib/haml/version.rb b/lib/haml/version.rb
index 6e822076..e2b33c37 100644
--- a/lib/haml/version.rb
+++ b/lib/haml/version.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
+require 'haml/util'
+
 module Haml
   module Version
+    include Haml::Util
+
     # Returns a hash representing the version of Haml.
     # The :major, :minor, and :teeny keys have their respective numbers.
     # The :string key contains a human-readable string representation of the version.
@@ -38,10 +42,5 @@ module Haml
 
       @@version
     end
-
-    # Returns the path of file relative to the Haml root.
-    def scope(file) # :nodoc:
-      File.expand_path File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', '..', file)
-    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/haml/util_test.rb b/test/haml/util_test.rb
index 834f8482..6151426d 100644
--- a/test/haml/util_test.rb
+++ b/test/haml/util_test.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../test_helper'
+require 'pathname'
 
 class UtilTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   include Haml::Util
 
+  def test_scope
+    assert(File.exist?(scope("Rakefile")))
+  end
+
   def test_to_hash
     assert_equal({
         :foo => 1,