A man was walking down the sea shore and saw a boy lifting something up
from the sand and throwing it into the sea. The man came closer and saw that
the boy was lifting starfish. They surrounded him, and it seemed that there
were millions of starfish lying on the sand. They were literally scattered many
miles across the shore.
“Why are you throwing the starfish into the sea?” the man asked as he
approached the boy.
“If they are left on the shore until tomorrow morning, when the low tide
comes, they will die,” the boy replied while he kept doing what he was doing.
“But that’s ridiculous!” the man exclaimed. “Look around! There are
millions of starfish here; the entire shore is littered with them. Your efforts
are futile!”
The boy lifted another starfish, paused for a moment, then threw it into
the sea and finally uttered:
“No, my effort will mean a lot… for this starfish.”
Translated by The
Catalog of Good Deeds
CONVERSATION