diff --git a/src/docx/image/tiff.py b/src/docx/image/tiff.py
index 1194929af..3f44ca211 100644
--- a/src/docx/image/tiff.py
+++ b/src/docx/image/tiff.py
@@ -236,6 +236,8 @@ def _parse_value(cls, stream_rdr, offset, value_count, value_offset):
         The length of the string, including a terminating '\x00' (NUL) character, is in
         `value_count`.
         """
+        if value_count <= 4:
+            return stream_rdr.read_str(value_count - 1, offset + 8)
         return stream_rdr.read_str(value_count - 1, value_offset)