diff --git a/guard.gemspec b/guard.gemspec
index febe2ddfa..99702bb92 100644
--- a/guard.gemspec
+++ b/guard.gemspec
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 # -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
-$:.push File.expand_path('../lib', __FILE__)
-require 'guard/version'
+Kernel.load File.expand_path('../lib/guard/version.rb', __FILE__)
 
 Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.name        = 'guard'
diff --git a/lib/guard/version.rb b/lib/guard/version.rb
index 78afdff83..5c5b8b616 100644
--- a/lib/guard/version.rb
+++ b/lib/guard/version.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 module Guard
-  VERSION = "0.4.0"
+  VERSION = "0.4.0" unless defined? VERSION
 end