An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks
into the pub and promptly orders three beers. The
bartender
raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he
drinks quietly at a table, alone. An hour later, the man has
finished the three beers and orders three more. This happens yet
again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three
beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is
whispering about the Man Who Orders Three Beers. Finally, a
week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the
town. "I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are
wondering
why you always order three beers?"
"Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies, "You see, I have two
brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia.
We promised each other that we would always order an extra two
beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond."
The bartender and the whole town was pleased with this answer,
and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers became a local
celebrity and source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent
that
out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.
Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers.
The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for
the rest of the evening: he orders only two beers. The word
flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of
the brothers. The next day, the bartender says to the man,
"Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences
to
you for the death of your brother. You know--the two beers and
all..." The
man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll
be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It's
just that I've decided to give up drinking for Lent."
