diff --git a/test/test_files/gold.txt b/test/test_files/gold.txt
index 304ff183..0b2796db 100644
--- a/test/test_files/gold.txt
+++ b/test/test_files/gold.txt
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@ success:
 - "Sammy Sosa completed another fine season with great stats.\n 63 Home Runs\n0.288 Batting Average What a year!\n"
 - {accomplishment : "Mark set a major league home run record in 1998.\n", name : "Mark McGwire", stats : "65 Home Runs\n0.278 Batting Average\n"}
 - {quoted : " # not a 'comment'.", single : "\"Howdy!\" he cried.", tie-fighter : "|\\-*-/|", unicode : "Sosa did fine."}
-- ["Fun with \\\" \a \b \e \f   \n \r \t \v \0     \_ \N \L \P   A A"]
-- ["Mark McGwire's year was crippled by a knee injury."]
+- "Fun with \\\" \a \b \e \f \n \r \t \v \0   \_ \N \L \P A A"
+- "Mark McGwire's year was crippled by a knee injury."
 
 C:\dev\yaml_spirit\test\test_files>C:\dev\compile\parse_yaml_test.exe C:\dev\yaml_spirit\test\test_files\yaml_block_array1.yaml 
 success: 
diff --git a/test/test_files/test.yaml b/test/test_files/test.yaml
index 4646d280..5147e7ac 100644
--- a/test/test_files/test.yaml
+++ b/test/test_files/test.yaml
@@ -107,13 +107,13 @@ quoted: ' # not a ''comment''.'
 tie-fighter: '|\-*-/|'
 
 ---
-- "Fun with \\\" \a \b \e \f \
-  \n \r \t \v \0 \
-  \  \_ \N \L \P \
-  \x41 \u0041"
+"Fun with \\\" \a \b \e \f \
+\n \r \t \v \0 \
+\  \_ \N \L \P \
+\x41 \u0041"
 
 ---
-- Mark McGwire's
+  Mark McGwire's
   year was crippled
   by a knee injury.
 
diff --git a/yaml/parser/block.hpp b/yaml/parser/block.hpp
index c0429d57..74d4b6f1 100644
--- a/yaml/parser/block.hpp
+++ b/yaml/parser/block.hpp
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 namespace omd { namespace parser
 {
     template <typename Iterator>
-    struct block : qi::grammar<Iterator, ast::value_t(), qi::locals<int> >
+    struct block : qi::grammar<Iterator, ast::value_t()>
     {
         block(std::string const& source_file = "");
 
@@ -23,11 +23,6 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
         typedef std::pair<ast::string_t, ast::value_t> map_element_t;
 
         white_space_t ws;
-        //~ qi::rule<Iterator, ast::value_t()> stream;
-        //~ qi::rule<Iterator, ast::value_t()> document;
-        //~ qi::rule<Iterator, ast::value_t()> implicit_document;
-        //~ qi::rule<Iterator, ast::array_t()> explicit_document;
-        //~ qi::rule<Iterator> document_end;
         qi::rule<Iterator> end_of_input;
 
         qi::rule<Iterator, ast::value_t()> block_node;
@@ -38,6 +33,7 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
         qi::rule<Iterator> indent;
         qi::rule<Iterator> skip_indent;
         qi::rule<Iterator> skip_indent_child;
+        qi::rule<Iterator, ast::value_t()> start;
         qi::rule<Iterator, ast::value_t(), qi::locals<int> > blocks;
         qi::rule<Iterator, ast::value_t(), qi::locals<int> > flow_compound;
 
diff --git a/yaml/parser/block_def.hpp b/yaml/parser/block_def.hpp
index 546f8630..d2ee2039 100644
--- a/yaml/parser/block_def.hpp
+++ b/yaml/parser/block_def.hpp
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
 
     template <typename Iterator>
     block<Iterator>::block(std::string const& source_file)
-      : block::base_type(blocks),
+      : block::base_type(start),
         flow_g(current_indent),
         current_indent(-1),
         error_handler(error_handler_t(source_file))
@@ -163,10 +163,14 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
         auto comment = '#' >> *(char_ - eol) >> eol;    // comments
         auto blank_eol = *blank >> (comment | eol);     // empty until eol
 
-        auto flow_string = skip(space)[flow_g.scalar_value.string_value.unicode_start];
+        auto flow_string =
+            skip(space)[flow_g.scalar_value.string_value.unicode_start]
+            ;
 
         // no-skip version
-        auto flow_scalar_ns = flow_g.scalar_value.scalar_value.alias();
+        auto flow_scalar_ns =
+            flow_g.scalar_value.scalar_value.alias()
+            ;
 
         auto get_indent =
             phx::ref(current_indent)
@@ -262,6 +266,16 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
             >>  restore_indent
             ;
 
+        start %=
+                blocks
+
+                // YAML allows bare top-level scalars. Allow this, but set
+                // the indent to 1 to force unquoted strings to be indented,
+                // otherwise, unquoted strings will gobble up too much in
+                // its path.
+            |   eps[get_indent = 1] >> skip(space)[flow_g.scalar_value]
+            ;
+
         auto start_indent =
             omit[indent] PRINT_INDENT
             ;
diff --git a/yaml/parser/scalar.hpp b/yaml/parser/scalar.hpp
index c9f637f3..26ce2a4b 100644
--- a/yaml/parser/scalar.hpp
+++ b/yaml/parser/scalar.hpp
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
         int& indent;
         unicode_string(int& indent);
 
+        qi::rule<Iterator, void(std::string&)> escape;
         qi::rule<Iterator, void(std::string&)> char_esc;
         qi::rule<Iterator, std::string()> char_lit;
         qi::rule<Iterator, std::string()> double_quoted;
diff --git a/yaml/parser/scalar_def.hpp b/yaml/parser/scalar_def.hpp
index e6bda52b..6fddbd6d 100644
--- a/yaml/parser/scalar_def.hpp
+++ b/yaml/parser/scalar_def.hpp
@@ -141,14 +141,16 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
         function<detail::push_utf8> push_utf8;
         function<detail::push_esc> push_esc;
 
-        char_esc =
-            '\\'
-            > (   ('x' > hex)                     [push_utf8(_r1, _1)]
+        escape =
+                  ('x' > hex)                     [push_utf8(_r1, _1)]
               |   ('u' > hex4)                    [push_utf8(_r1, _1)]
               |   ('U' > hex8)                    [push_utf8(_r1, _1)]
               |   char_("0abtnvfre\"/\\N_LP \t")  [push_esc(_r1, _1)]
               |   eol                             // continue to next line
-              )
+            ;
+
+        char_esc =
+            '\\' > escape(_r1)
             ;
 
         double_quoted =
@@ -189,6 +191,7 @@ namespace omd { namespace parser
             ;
 
         BOOST_SPIRIT_DEBUG_NODES(
+            (escape)
             (char_esc)
             (single_quoted)
             (double_quoted)