A man was walking along the beach as the sun set. He listened to the swish-swish of the waves and the padding of his own feet.
He noticed that the sand was littered with starfish. All along the beach, thousands and thousands had been washed up by the sea. There, they lay dying because they could not survive long out of the water.
In the distance, the man saw a small boy running frantically up and down the beach. As the man got closer, he saw the boy was picking up starfish and throwing them back into the sea.
Again and again he ran, picked up one or two of the stranded creatures and returned them to the water.
The boy did not notice the man approaching until he shouted.
"—Little boy, what on earth are you doing?"
The boy replied:
"—Can’t you see? I’m saving the starfish."
"—Don’t be silly!"—said the man "—There are thousands and thousands of starfish on this beach. How can you possibly make any difference?"
The boy hesitated for a moment. Then, he reached down, carefully picked up another starfish and cast it back into the sea.
