The original story is credited to Loren Eisley (1907-1977)
Below is my remixed version. Each time I tell it I change it a little bit.
Youngin' ... a young person, let's say 15.
The Starfish Story
Living nearby,
an old man walks along a beach.
glittering in the morning sun, are starfish.
... drying out.
dying
too far to be rescued by the tide ...
thousands
dying
Old man: "I guess they got stuck from the storm last night."
Covering horror with amusement.
continues his walk
but careful to step over, not onto the starfish.
about an hour of careful walking, in the distance, he can make out a figure, ...
a youngin'
... throwing stuff into the ocean
litter?
Starfish.
... slowly and carefully, throwing starfish into the ocean.
reach-and-throw, reach-and-throw, reach-and-throw
He's much closer now, shouting distance
Old Man is irritated.
Old Man has Seen Things.
Old Man knows this is pointless.
He's within touching distance, starfish distance.
Old man: "Why?"
Old man: "You can't possibly save them all"
Old man: "it doesn't matter"
Splash
The youngin' excitedly replies:
"... It mattered to that one!"
v1.4 - Last edit 16-May-2025
This is work dedicated to the Public Domain via CC0 1.0.