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In Maine they tell of an old man walking alone on the beach with his grandson, who picked up each starfish they passed and threw it back into the sea. "If I left them up here," the boy said, "they would dry up and die. I'm saving their lives."

"But," protested the old man, "the beach goes on for miles, and there are millions of starfish. What you are doing won't make any difference."

The boy looked at the starfish in his hand, gently threw it into the ocean, and answered: "It makes a difference to this one."