diff --git a/crates/fonts/src/mtext.rs b/crates/fonts/src/mtext.rs
index e2ff9a3f9..9fe7aa47e 100644
--- a/crates/fonts/src/mtext.rs
+++ b/crates/fonts/src/mtext.rs
@@ -904,7 +904,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(plain_mtext("\\H2.5x;Big"), "Big");
         assert_eq!(plain_mtext("unterminated \\H2"), "unterminated ");
         assert_eq!(plain_mtext("\\U+0041B \\U+00E8"), "AB è");
-        assert_eq!(plain_mtext("\\U+12"), "", "a short escape is a code with an argument");
+        assert_eq!(plain_mtext("\\U+12"), "+12", "a short escape loses only the backslash and the code");
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -928,6 +928,8 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(plain_mtext("\\M+5BCFE x;y"), "\u{4ef6} x;y");
         // Malformed escapes lose only the backslash and the code.
         assert_eq!(plain_mtext("a\\U+12 b"), "a+12 b");
+        assert_eq!(lay("a\\U+12 b", 0.0).lines, vec!["a+12 b"]);
+        assert_eq!(lay("\\pxql;a\\U+12 b", 0.0).lines, vec!["a+12 b"]);
         assert_eq!(plain_mtext("a\\M+ b"), "a+ b");
     }