The Irishman who ordered three beers

Agent 36, who has been mentioned in Walt's blog under his own name, gets his Agent Number for this lovely (and timely) Irish tale...

An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the best 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 Irish family bond."

The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon "The Man Who Orders Three Beers" became a local celebrity and a 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 sincere condolences to you on the death of one of your brothers. You know... the two beers and all."

The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that both of me two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."