import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

text = """
<root>
  <items>
    <item>a</item>
    <item>b</item>
    <item>c</item>
  </items>
  <items>
    <item>d</item>
    <item>e</item>
    <item>f</item>
  </items>
</root>
"""


tree = ET.fromstring(text)
for node in tree.findall(".//item[1]"):
    print(node.text)