The great passenger ship had struck an iceberg in mid-ocean and it was going down. There were not enough life boats for all the passengers. The captain had the passengers all draw lots. Those who drew a card with a number on it were to have a place in the lifeboats; those who drew a blank card would have to go down with the ship.
A father drew a card with a number, his wife drew a blank card. But her husband exchanged with her, and kissing his little baby girl good-bye he placed her in his wife’s arms, saying as he did so, “When she gets a little older tell her about this day, and tell her that her father died to save her.”
Some years passed by, and on her birthday the little girl was told the story of her father’s death. She stood below his picture looking into his face for some minutes; then she said as she kissed him, “I love... I love you because you died to save me.”
ML-12/24/1972