diff --git a/mongoengine/connection.py b/mongoengine/connection.py
index ee8d735b..770d34f6 100644
--- a/mongoengine/connection.py
+++ b/mongoengine/connection.py
@@ -60,3 +60,4 @@ def connect(db, username=None, password=None, **kwargs):
     _db_name = db
     _db_username = username
     _db_password = password
+    return _get_db()
\ No newline at end of file