diff --git a/t/t4129-apply-samemode.sh b/t/t4129-apply-samemode.sh
index d9a1084b5e..87ffd2b8e1 100755
--- a/t/t4129-apply-samemode.sh
+++ b/t/t4129-apply-samemode.sh
@@ -153,8 +153,8 @@ test_expect_success POSIXPERM 'patch mode for new file is canonicalized' '
 test_expect_success POSIXPERM 'patch mode for deleted file is canonicalized' '
 	test_when_finished "git reset --hard" &&
 	echo content >non-canon &&
-	git add non-canon &&
 	chmod 666 non-canon &&
+	git add non-canon &&
 
 	cat >patch <<-\EOF &&
 	diff --git a/non-canon b/non-canon