Billy’s Lesson

One day Billy was walking down the beach and saw a horseshoe crab on its back thrashing around.

“Eew!” Billy thought, “What an ugly creature! I’m not touching that!” And he walked on; he didn’t stop to help.

About 25 years later, Billy needed a knee replacement. He thought the procedure went fine, until five weeks later, when he returned to the doctor because his knee was swollen. The doctor said his leg would have to be amputated.

“Why!?” cried Billy.

“Well,” the doctor said with a sigh, “because we couldn’t find any horseshoe crabs to harvest. Years ago, believe it or not, horseshoe crabs were harvested for their blood, for medical purposes. Their blood was used to test replacement joints to see if they were infected with bacteria. But because the horseshoe crabs were over harvested by fishermen, many years ago, they became extinct.”

So you see, this was a lesson learned for Billy. If he helped all those horseshoe crabs, he may still have his legs. Now, when you see a horseshoe crab stranded on the beach, Just Flip ’Em! Your legs may depend on it.