The Boy and the Starfish

Rewritten and planned by Babak Kardan


One morning, on the shores of a beach, there was a middle-aged man walking on the sand. He was not a very happy man in his life. Usually he would walk alone, rarely talking to anyone on his walk. Usually he would be lost in his thoughts as he walked.

But today, things would be different for him.

As the man walked along, he noticed that many baby starfish had been swept ashore from the ocean the previous night. Being small, these starfish did not have enough energy to swim back into the water. They were just lying there in the sand, helpless. The man saw this scene every morning on his walk. He knew that soon, as the hot sun would come out, the starfish would all dry up and die. Thinking about this, he walked on.

He hadn’t gone far when he saw a boy standing on the shore. The boy was very active and busy. He was continuously picking up starfish from the sand and throwing them as far as he could, back into the sea.

The man watched the boy for a while, with a perplexed look on his face. He looked at the long, long beach front, the thousands of stranded starfish, and this lone boy, picking up and throwing, picking up and throwing…

The man approached the boy. Noticing him, the boy greeted him respectfully, but didn’t stop what he was doing.

“What are you doing?” asked the man.

“I am throwing these baby starfish back into the sea so that they don’t die” said the boy.

“Look” said the man, pointing to the long beach in front of them, “this beach is thousands of miles long. Who knows how many starfish are on these shores this morning? Certainly, you cannot save all of them.”

The man then picked up one of the starfish and continued, “so what is the use of what you are doing? You are just wasting your time.”

The boy stopped, and took the starfish from the man’s hand. Looking at the animal carefully, he said,

“You may think I am wasting my time, and that I cannot make a big difference to these animals. That is true.”

Then, the boy gently threw the starfish he was holding, back into the water, and said,

“But, for this one, I have made a difference!”

The man looked silently at the boy for a while, then he turned around and quietly walked back home. By now, he had a smile on his face. He was happy.

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Questions:

1. Write one sentence to explain the meaning of this story.

2. Which person in the story is following his head? Which one is following his heart?

3. Why doesn’t the man do anything about the starfish on the shore?

4. Why is the man perplexed as he watches the boy?

5. Do you agree with what the man says to the boy? Explain

6. Why do you think the man is smiling when he walks back home?

7. In your life, do you want to live like the man, or like the boy? How would you do this?