Starfish Story

The Starfish Story begins with an old man walking along a beach strewn with thousands of stranded starfish, which had washed ashore after a storm. As he walks, he notices a young girl gently picking up the starfish one by one and tossing them back into the ocean. Curious, the old man approaches the girl and asks her why she’s doing this, as it appears to be a futile effort given the sheer number of starfish on the beach. The girl responds, “If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” The old man, skeptical, points out that there are miles of beach and countless starfish, and her actions couldn’t possibly make a difference. The girl, undeterred, picks up another starfish, tosses it into the ocean, and replies, “It made a difference to that one.”