The Starfish Story by Loren Eisley

One day a wise man was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a young man picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean.

As he came closer, the wise man called out, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
The young man paused, looked up, and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" said the somewhat surprised man.

To this the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them into the ocean, they will die."

Upon hearing this the older man commented, "But young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the waves he said, "I made a difference to that one!"