 <p>how about </p> <pre><code>julia&gt; collect(b)[1] "A" </code></pre> <p><strong>edit</strong> </p> <p>as the legendary Dan Getz suggested, consider doing </p> <pre><code>julia&gt; collect(take(b,1))[1] "A" </code></pre> <p>if memory is an issue</p>