diff --git a/src/mudlib/zmachine/zobjectparser.py b/src/mudlib/zmachine/zobjectparser.py
index c0f6ad5..5c265b6 100644
--- a/src/mudlib/zmachine/zobjectparser.py
+++ b/src/mudlib/zmachine/zobjectparser.py
@@ -330,40 +330,21 @@ class ZObjectParser:
         self.set_sibling(objectnum, 0)
 
     def insert_object(self, parent_object, new_child):
-        """Prepend object NEW_CHILD to the list of PARENT_OBJECT's children."""
+        """Prepend object NEW_CHILD to the list of PARENT_OBJECT's children.
 
-        # Remember all the original pointers within the new_child
-        [p, s, c] = self._get_parent_sibling_child(new_child)
+        Per the Z-spec: if new_child already has a parent, it is first
+        removed from that parent's child list, then made the first child
+        of parent_object."""
 
-        # First insert new_child intto the parent_object
+        # Remove from old parent first (spec says "first removed")
+        self.remove_object(new_child)
+
+        # Now insert as first child of parent_object
         original_child = self.get_child(parent_object)
         self.set_sibling(new_child, original_child)
         self.set_parent(new_child, parent_object)
         self.set_child(parent_object, new_child)
 
-        if p == 0:  # no need to 'remove' new_child, since it wasn't in a tree
-            return
-
-        # Hunt down and remove the new_child from its old location
-        item = self.get_child(p)
-        if item == 0:
-            # new_object claimed to have parent p, but p has no children!?
-            raise ZObjectMalformedTree
-        elif item == new_child:  # done!  new_object was head of list
-            self.set_child(p, s)  # note that s might be 0, that's fine.
-        else:  # walk across list of sibling links
-            prev = item
-            current = self.get_sibling(item)
-            while current != 0:
-                if current == new_child:
-                    self.set_sibling(prev, s)  # s might be 0, that's fine.
-                    break
-                prev = current
-                current = self.get_sibling(current)
-            else:
-                # we reached the end of the list, never got a match
-                raise ZObjectMalformedTree
-
     def get_shortname(self, objectnum):
         """Return 'short name' of object number OBJECTNUM as ascii string."""