An Irishman walks into a bar

An Irishman walks into a bar and orders three beers. The bartender is curious why he orders three beers at once and asks him why he has ordered as he has.
The Irishman replies that he has two brothers, and long ago, they agreed that every time they had a beer, they would have a beer for each of his brothers to go along with his own.
The bartender tells all the people in the bar this story. The Irishman comes to the bar often after that.
Several weeks later, the Irishman comes into the bar and orders two beers. All of the other patrons notice and ask the bartender to offer their condolences to the Irishman, assuming that he has lost a brother.
The bartender says, "We've all noticed that you are a beer short tonight. We would like to express our sadness at your loss."
The Irishman replies, "Oh. My brothers are well. I just gave up beer for Lent."


--Told to me by my Uncle