During the North African Campaign, a bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike and 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, and after the Chaplain had read the prayer, the text was taken up next. Those of the boys who had a prayerbook took them out; but this one boy only had a deck of cards and so he spread them out. The Sergeant saw those cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards!"

After the services were over, the soldier was taken prisoner and taken before the Provost Marshal. The Marshal asked, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man here?" "For playing cards in church, sir." "And what have you to say for yourself, son?" "Much, sir," replied the soldier. The Marshall said, "I hope so, for if not, I shall punish you more than if any man was ever punished."

The soldier said, "Sir, I have been on a march for about six days and had neither bible nor prayer book, but I hope to satisfy you sir, with the purity of my intentions". 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 duce reminds me that the Bible is divided into two parts, the Old and the New Testament. And when I see the trey, I think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

When I see the four, I think of the four evangelists who preached the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And when I see the five it reminds me of the five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps; there was ten of them: five 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 created 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 the 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 didn't even thank Him. When I see the ten, I think of the ten commandments God handed down to Moses on a table 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 Jack, or nave, is the Devil.

When I count the numbers of spots on a deck of cards I find three-hundred sixty five, the number of days in a year. There are fifty two 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's thirteen tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter.

So you see, sir, my pack of cards serves me as a Bible, almanac, and prayer book. And friends, I know this story is true, bucause I was that soldier.

Tex Ritter