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The Fable of the Starfish by Barry J. Northern Two starfish clung to a rock in the shallows, enjoying the to and fro of the seawater against their tube feet. After a while, one starfish spoke to the other. "I am hungry. Let us go and find some mussels to eat." His friend agreed, and so they crawled down the rock and across the sand to where the mussels slept on their rock. On the way, they came to a crevice in a high reef, and Hungry said, "Let us go through this way, for it is quicker." Friend was not sure, and with reason, for soon both starfish were stuck, and as much as they struggled, both had one arm wedged fast within the crevice. Hungry pulled hard and left his arm behind, saying, "It matters not, for my arm will soon grow back." And off he crawled toward the mussels, enjoining his friend to follow. "I will follow you soon, brother, for I am almost free." Friend wiggled his arm and with care was able to manoeuvre it out of the crevice without injuring himself. He soon caught up with Hungry, who was already eating mussels on the rock. Hungry and Friend ate together for a while, but Hungry was not satisfied. "Let us go to the top of the rock, where the mussels are bigger." Friend was content, however, saying, "No brother, I will stay here, for these smaller mussels are easier to open." After Friend had feasted a while longer, Hungry came back down the rock, now with only three arms. "What happened to you, brother?" "I became stuck in a large mussel, for it was too strong for me. But fear not, brother, for my arm will soon grow back. Let us return to the shallows." Now on the way back to the shallows, Hungry lost two more arms. One he lost to a reef crab rather than walk around it, and the other he lost to a triton shell who had been lurking in the shadows of a short cut. But each time Hungry said to Friend, "Fear not brother, for my arm will soon grow back." Soon the two starfish clung to their rock in the shallows, enjoying the sun on their backs, and the gentle to and fro of the seawater against their tube feet, and as each one's belly was full, they drifted into sleep. When they awoke, the sun was gone, and the to and fro of the sea was no longer gentle. Hungry said, "A storm is coming. Let us find a hole to hide in." But the storm was already upon them, and though they tried, they could not crawl against the surging water. Hungry began to lose his hold upon the rock, and so Friend held out an arm to help. "Here, brother, take hold of me." But when Hungry reached out, the angry waters picked him up and washed him onto the heavy pebbles, far away from the shoreline. And though he tried to crawl back to the shallows, he could not, for he only had one arm, and the others had not yet regrown. After that, Friend travelled wide, singing his lamentation to all who would listen. Don't be like the sea star, Washed up upon the shore, For one ounce of prevention, Is worth a pound of cure. The Fable of the Starfish by Barry J. Northern is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. Hosted by The Internet Archive download the MP3 here Music by Jeff Wahl from the album, A Light in the Darkness, track 17 "The Sea", and provided by