diff --git a/tests/bonsai/npc.mk b/tests/bonsai/npc.mk
index 8b7f8ea..b028c4d 100755
--- a/tests/bonsai/npc.mk
+++ b/tests/bonsai/npc.mk
@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ npc_ascii_controls:
 	awk 'BEGIN{ for (i = 0; i < 32; ++i) printf("%c", i); }' \
 		| $(BIN)/npc \
 		| head -n 1 \
-		| tr -d '\t' \
 		| xargs test "^@^A^B^C^D^E^F^G^H" =
 
 	# ASCII 0x0a (otherwise the head|tail sequence won't work) to 0x1f