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 soon 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,
myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.
.
