The Bet

Despite having used his own cunning to save his father's life, Indiana Jones felt himself constantly explaining just how difficult chosing the Holy Grail was from so many cups. His father proclaimed the real grail an obvious choice and refused to listen when Indy spoke of anything being obvious once it was pointed out to a person. To settle the matter, they made a bet. They would seek out the immortal knight, reclaim the Holy Grail and choose four other cups from those that had been gathered in the old cave.

“I had to choose from a hundred, but even only picking from five, I'm going to win this one,” the confident Indy said.

The immortal knight tried to protest, but they would hear none of it. At the first hotel they found, they gave the test to a dozen people and only one guessed correctly.

“Beginner's luck,” said Henry Jones, Sr. “These people are into televangelists. They associate God with wealth.”

The three of them went from town to town explaining the bet to everyone they met. Hundreds drank, but only a small number chose the correct cup. Indiana celebrated with champagne, which his father had to pay for. The old knight refused, and instead spent the evening lamenting the hundreds who died agonizing deaths to prove a point.

- Originally mailed to H. Longino from Gulfport, Mississippi