Strolling along the edge of the sea, a man catches sight of a young women who appears to be engaged in a ritual dance. She stoops down, then straightens to her full height, casting her arm out in an arc.  Drawing closer, he sees that the beach around her is litered with starfish, and she is throwing them one by one into the sea.  He lightly mocks her: “There are stranded starfish as far as the eye can see, for miles up the beach.  What a difference can saving a few of them possibly make?”  Smiling, she bends down and once more tosses a starfish out over the water, saying serenely, “It certainly makes a difference to this one.”