diff --git a/sample/Makefile.am b/sample/Makefile.am
index 1de7e724..2f4e26e2 100644
--- a/sample/Makefile.am
+++ b/sample/Makefile.am
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = foreign no-dependencies
 
 LDADD = ../libevent.la
-AM_CFLAGS = -I$(top_srcdir)/compat
+AM_CFLAGS = -I$(top_srcdir) -I$(top_srcdir)/compat
 
 noinst_PROGRAMS = event-test time-test signal-test