A man walked along the beach. Ahead, he saw a boy dashing back and forth in the sand. He smiled, thinking the boy was enjoying a game on a fine morning so he hurried to catch up.

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As he got closer, he saw the boy picking something up out of the sand, and gently tossing it into the sea. As he got closer to the boy, the man called out, “Hello, what are you doing?”

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The boy paused in throwing, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back in, they will die.”

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“But don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You can’t possibly make a difference.”

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After listening politely, the boy reached down, picked up another starfish, and gently tossed it into the sea and said,