It matters to this one

A boy stands on the beach, where hundreds of starfish have been swept up by the waves and stranded there to die. He’s throwing the starfish back in the water, one by one, so they can survive.

A grownup watches him for a minute from up on the boardwalk, and then yells down, “You can’t possibly throw all those starfish back in the water. You could stand there all night throwing starfish — it won’t matter.”

The boy looks around, throws another starfish into the water, and says, “It matters to this one.”

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This is one of many adaptations of The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley.