instance method first

Returns the first record, or the first n records, from the collection. If the collection is empty, the first form returns nil, and the second form returns an empty array.

class Person < ActiveRecord::Base
  has_many :pets
end

person.pets
# => [
#       #<Pet id: 1, name: "Fancy-Fancy", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 2, name: "Spook", person_id: 1>,
#       #<Pet id: 3, name: "Choo-Choo", person_id: 1>
#    ]

person.pets.first # => #<Pet id: 1, name: "Fancy-Fancy", person_id: 1>

person.pets.first(2)
# => [
#      #<Pet id: 1, name: "Fancy-Fancy", person_id: 1>,
#      #<Pet id: 2, name: "Spook", person_id: 1>
#    ]

another_person_without.pets          # => []
another_person_without.pets.first    # => nil
another_person_without.pets.first(3) # => []