One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, "What are you doing?"
The boy replied,
"Throwing starfish back into the
ocean.
The surf is up and the
tide is going out. If I don't throw them back,
they'll die."
"Son," the man said, "don't you realize there
are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of
starfish?
You can't make a
difference!"
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another
starfish, and
threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the
man, he said,
"It made a difference for that
one."