Starfish

Starfish
-story from an unknown origin-

One day an old man was walking along the beach. It was low tide, and the sand was littered with thousands of stranded starfish that the water had carried in and then left behind. The man began walking very carefully so as not to step on any of the beautiful creatures. Many of them seemed to still be alive, and he considered picking some up and putting them back in the water, where they could resume their lives. The man knew the starfish would soon die if left on the dry sand, but he reasoned that he could not possibly help them all, so he did nothing and continued walking.

Soon afterward, the man came upon a small child on the beach who was tossing one starfish after another back into the sea. The old man stopped and asked the lad, "What are you doing?"

"I'm saving the starfish," the child replied.

"But why waste your time? There are so many. You can't save them all, so what does it matter?" asked the man.

The child picked up another starfish. He glanced at it for a moment, then threw it back into the water. "It matters to this one."