Friends, this is tex ritter with a strange story about a soldier boy and
a deck of cards. during a north african campaign a bunch of soldier boys
had been on a long hike, and they arrived in a little town called
casino.andquot;
The next morning being sunday several of the boys went to church. a
sargent commanded the boys in church, and after the chaplain had read the
prayer the text was taken up next..those of the boys who had a prayer book
took them out, but this one boy only had a deck of cards, and so he spread
them out.
The sergeant saw the cards and said,andquot;soldier, put away those cards.andquot;
After the services were over the soldier was taken prisoner and brought before the provost marshall.
The marshall said, andquot;sargent, why have you brought this man here?andquot;
andquot;for playing cards in church, sir.andquot;
andquot;and what have you to say for yourself, son?andquot;
andquot;much, sir.andquot; replied the soldier.
and'the marshall said, andquot;i hope so, for if not , i shall punish you more than
any man was ever punished.andquot;
The soldier said, andquot;sir , i have been on a march for about six days, and i had neither bible nor prayer book, but i hope to satisfy you, sir, with the purity of my intentions.andquot;
With that the boy started his story.
andquot;you see, sir, when i look at the ace it reminds me that there is but one god. the deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts; the old and new testaments. and when i see the trey i think of the father, son, and holy ghost. when i see the four i think of the four evangelist who preached the gospel. there was matthew, mark, luke, and john. and when i see the five it reminds me of the five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps. ten of and'em; five who were wise and were saved; five were foolish and were shut out. and when i see the six it
reminds me that in six days god made this great heaven and earth. and when
i see the seven it reminds me that on the seventh day god rested from his
great work. when i see the eight i think of the eight righteous persons god saved when he destroyed this earth. there was noah, his wife,their three sons, and their wives. and when i see the nine i think of the lepers our savior cleansed , and nine of the ten didnand't even thank him. when i see the ten i think of the ten commandments god handed down to moses on a tablet of stone. when i see the king it reminds me that there is but one king of heaven, god almighty. and when i see the queen i think of the blessed virgin mary who is queen of heaven. and the jacks, or knaves, itand's the devil. and when i count the number of spots on a deck of cards i find three hundred sixty-five the number of days in a year. fifty-two cards, the number of weeks in a year. four suits, the number of weeks in a month. twelve picture cards, the number of months in a year. thirteen tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter. so you see, sir, my pack of cards serve me as a bible, almanac, and prayer book.andquot;
andquot;friends, i know this story is true, because i knew that soldier.andquot;
