diff --git a/django/db/models/base.py b/django/db/models/base.py
index 08a81c9ab9..bc722de505 100644
--- a/django/db/models/base.py
+++ b/django/db/models/base.py
@@ -269,8 +269,8 @@ class Model(object):
         q._params.extend([param, param, getattr(self, self._meta.pk.attname)])
         try:
             return q[0]
-        except IndexError, e:
-            raise self.DoesNotExist, e.args
+        except IndexError:
+            raise self.DoesNotExist, "%s matching query does not exist." % self.__class__._meta.object_name
 
     def _get_next_or_previous_in_order(self, is_next):
         cachename = "__%s_order_cache" % is_next
diff --git a/django/db/models/query.py b/django/db/models/query.py
index b8fc0c695f..61032602fa 100644
--- a/django/db/models/query.py
+++ b/django/db/models/query.py
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ class QuerySet(object):
                     return list(self._clone(_offset=offset, _limit=limit))[::k.step]
             else:
                 try:
-                    return self._clone(_offset=k, _limit=1).get()
+                    return list(self._clone(_offset=k, _limit=1))[0]
                 except self.model.DoesNotExist, e:
                     raise IndexError, e.args
         else:
@@ -193,6 +193,7 @@ class QuerySet(object):
     def get(self, *args, **kwargs):
         "Performs the SELECT and returns a single object matching the given keyword arguments."
         clone = self.filter(*args, **kwargs)
+        # clean up SQL by removing unneeded ORDER BY
         if not clone._order_by:
             clone._order_by = ()
         obj_list = list(clone)
diff --git a/tests/modeltests/ordering/models.py b/tests/modeltests/ordering/models.py
index de08a75755..8b56731c55 100644
--- a/tests/modeltests/ordering/models.py
+++ b/tests/modeltests/ordering/models.py
@@ -56,6 +56,10 @@ API_TESTS = """
 >>> Article.objects.order_by('headline')[1:3]
 [Article 2, Article 3]
 
+# Getting a single item should work too:
+>>> Article.objects.all()[0]
+Article 4
+
 # Use '?' to order randomly. (We're using [...] in the output to indicate we
 # don't know what order the output will be in.
 >>> Article.objects.order_by('?')