One early morning as I was walking along the beach
I discovered a figure at a distance moving like a dancer.
As I got closer I noticed that the figure was a young girl
Maybe 9-10 years old and she wasn’t dancing.
She was reaching down to the shoreline
Picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean…
As I came even closer, I said ‘Good morning, what are you doing?’
She paused a little out of breath, looked up and said,
‘Throwing starfish into the sea’,
‘Why are you throwing them back there?’ I asked,
She said, ‘The sun is getting hot and the tide is going out,
If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die’.
I couldn’t help saying ‘But there are miles of beach
And hundreds of starfish, d’you think it makes a difference?’
She gave me a very serious look and bent down picking up another starfish
And threw it into the sea,
As it splashed into the water she said
‘It makes a difference to that one…’.
Cara Zara 