One child came upon another child on the beach one day. The second child was
walking along, looking down, then every few feet would bend down, pick
something up out of the sand, and toss it into the ocean. The first child
asked what kind of game this was.

The second child replied, "I'm saving starfish."

The first child was incredulous. "Are you kidding? There are too many! What
are you going to do? Spend all day and all night out here, tossing starfish
back into the ocean? You'll never save them all. And anyway, in the grand
scheme of life, they're just starfish. It doesn't matter if they live or
die."

The second child scooped another starfish up from the sand, considered it
briefly, then hurled it into the ocean. "It mattered to that one."