THREE BROTHERS, THREE BEERS

A young man moves to a tiny town, 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. Before leaving he orders three more beers before hitting the road.

The next evening the man arrives at the pub and 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?”

“I suppose it is odd, isn’t it?” the man replies, “You see, I have two brothers. One went to America and the other to England. We promised one another we’d always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond.”

The bartender, and the whole town, is pleased with this answer, and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers becomes a local celebrity and source of pride to the little town. He becomes a local attraction even out-of-towners 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 at every round. 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, and I, 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 my two brothers are alive and well. It’s just that I’ve been instructed by my wife to go on a diet and cut out drinking to get rid of my beer belly.” S