The Starfish Flinger

As the old man walked the beach at dawn,

he notice a young man ahead of him

picking up starfish and

flinging them into the sea. 

Finally catching up with the youth,

he asked him why he was doing this. 

The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. 

"But the beach goes on for miles and there

are millions of starfish," countered the

other.

"How can your effort make any difference?"

The young man looked at the starfish in

his hand and then threw it to safety in the

waves.

"It makes a difference to this one," he said.

-Author unknown