During the North African Campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike
They arrived in a little town called Casino
The next morning being Sunday, several of the boys went to church
A sergeant commanded the boys in church
After the Chaplain read the prayer, the text was taken up next
Those of the boys that had a prayer book took them out
One boy had only a deck of cards, and he spread them out
The sergeant saw the cards and said, "
Soldier, put away those cards." After the service was over, the soldier was taken prisoner and brought before the Provost Marshall
The Marshall said, "
Sergeant, why have you brought this man here?" "
For playing cards in church, Sir," was the response
The Marshall asked the soldier, "
And what have you to say for yourself, son?" "
Much, Sir," replied the soldier
The Marshall stated, "
I hope so, for if not I will punish you more than any man was ever punished." The soldier said, "
Sir, I have been on the march for about six months
I have neither bible nor a prayer book, but I hope to satisfy you, sir, with the purity of my intentions." And with that, the boy started his story ... "
You see, sir, when I look at the Ace, it reminds me that there is but one God
And the deuce reminds me that the bible is divided into two parts: the Old and the New Testaments
When I see the trey, I think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
And when I see the four, I think of the four evangelists 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; there were ten of them: five were wise and were saved, five were foolish and were shut out
When I see the six, it reminds me that in six days God made this heaven and earth
And when I see the seven, it reminds me that on the seventh day, God rested from his great work
And when I see the eight, I think of the eight righteous persons that God saved when he destroyed the earth: there was Noah, his wife, their sons and their wives
And when I see the nine, I think of the lepers our saviour cleansed, and that nine of the ten didn't even thank him
When I see the ten, I think of the ten commandments that 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 the Queen of Heaven
And the Jack or Knave is the Devil
When I count the number of spots in a deck of cards, I find, the number of days in a year
There are cards, the number of weeks in a year
There are four suits, the number of weeks in a month
There are twelve picture cards, the number of months in a year
There are thirteen tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter
So you see, Sir, my deck of cards serves me as a bible, an almanac and a prayer book." "
And friends, this is a true story
I know, I was that soldier."