function the_image($size = 'medium' , $class = ''){
	global $post;
 
	//setup the attachment array
	$att_array = array(
		'post_parent' => $post->ID,
		'post_type' => 'attachment',
		'post_mime_type' => 'image',
		'order_by' => 'menu_order'
	);
 
	//get the post attachments
	$attachments = get_children($att_array);
 
	//make sure there are attachments
	if (is_array($attachments)){
		//loop through them
		foreach($attachments as $att){
			//find the one we want based on its characteristics
			if ( $att->menu_order == 0){
				$image_src_array = wp_get_attachment_image_src($att->ID, $size);
 
				//get url - 1 and 2 are the x and y dimensions
				$url = $image_src_array[0];
				$caption = $att->post_excerpt;
				$image_html = '<img class="%s" src="%s" alt="%s" />';
 
				//combine the data
				$html = sprintf($image_html,$url,$caption,$class);
 
				//echo the result
				echo $html;
			}
		}
	}
 
}