xylic acid (1), can be readily converted to various esters 2–4 and reduced to the alcohol 5, which reacts with methyl iodide to give the ether 6. The alcohol can be dansylated to give 7, the fluorescence of which is selectively quenched by Cu(II) in acetonitrile. An attempt to convert the acid 1 to an amide resulted unexpectedly in the formation of a lactone 8. The conformational characteristics of