The Deck Of Cards
I remember my Mother and Grandmother telling this story to us as children. The author is unknown to me.
During the war a unit of soldiers had been on a long hike and had finally arrived in a little town to rest for the night. The next morning being Sunday, several of the boys went to the Chaplain's service, having a sergeant in command. After the Chaplain had said the prayer, the message was to begin. Those who had a prayer book or Bible took them out, but one soldier had only a deck of cards, and so he spread them out. The Sergeant saw the cards and said, "Soldier put away those cards." And the young soldier did as he was ordered.
After the services was over, the soldier was taken prisoner and brought before the Provost Marshall. The Marshall said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this soldier here?" "For playing cards in church, Sir." "And what have you got to say for yourself, son?" "A lot, Sir." Replied the soldier. The Marshall said, "I hope so, for if not I shall punish you more than any man was ever punished."
The soldier said, "Sir, I've been on the march for about six days, I had neither Bible nor prayer book, but I hope I can explain to you my intentions with the cards.
With that, the boy started his story: "You see sir, when I look at the Ace;
it reminds me there is but one God.""And the Deuce reminds me that the Bible is
divided into two parts, the Old and New Testaments.""And when I see the Three, 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 Gospel.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.""When I see the Five, it reminds me
of the five wise virgins who trimmed their lights
and were saved. And five were foolish and shut out.""And the six, reminds me that God created
the heavens and the earth in six days.""And on the Seventh day God rested."
"And when I see the Eight, I think of the eight righteous persons God saved when He destroyed this earth. Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives."
"The Nine reminds me of the lepers our
Saviour cleansed, and nine of ten never thanked him."And the Ten reminds me of the Ten
Commandments handed down to Moses.""The Jack represents the knave or devil."
"The Queen reminds me of the Virgin Mary,
Queen of Heaven.""The King reminds me there is but one King
of Heaven, The Lord God Almighty!"
"When I count the number of spots on a deck of cards,
I find 365, the number of days in a year;
There's 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year;
There's 4 suits, the number of weeks in a month;
There's 12 picture cards, the number of months in a year;
There's 13 tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter; ""So you see, Sir, my deck of cards serves as my Bible
as well as my calendar.""I meant no disrespect, Sir."
Needless to say there was no punishment
for the young soldier with the deck of cards.
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