One day a resident， noticing Frankie waiting by a door for Jean， invited the deer in. Glen Gardner housed old people who had been in state mental hospitals and needed special care.

　　When Frankie was discovered inside， the staff rushed to put him outside. But when they saw how eagerly one resident after another reached out to touch him， they let him stay. When Frankie appeared， smiles spread and people who seldom spoke asked the deer's name.

　　Discovering a line in front of the payroll's clerk's window one day， Frankie companionably joined it. When his turn came， the clerk peered out at him. "Well， Frankie，" she said， "I wouldn’t mind giving you a paycheck. You're our best social worker！" The deer had the run of Glen Gardner until late fall， when the superintendent noticed he was growing antlers. Fearful he might accidentally injure a resident， the supervisor decreed banishment. Frankie continued to frequent the grounds， but as the months passed he explored farther afield. When he was a year old， the evening came when he didn't return to the powerhouse； now he was on his own.

　　Still， every morning he was there to greet Jean， exploring the pocket for the treat Jean always brought， and in the afternoon he would reappear. Residents who had refused to go outside before would join him on the front lawn to scratch his ears. George， a solitary resident with a speech defect who didn't seem to care if people understood him or not， taught Frankie to respond to his voice， and they often walked together.

　　When Frankie was two years old――a sleek creature with six-point antlers and a shiny coat――he failed to show up one April morning. Nor did he answer anyone's calls. It was late the next day before Jean and George found him lying on a sheltered patch of ground. His right front leg was shattered， jagged splinters of bone jutted through the skin.

　　"Oh， you old donkey， “ Jean whispered. "What happened？" The deer's eyes were clouded with pain， but he knew Jean's voice and tried to lick his hand.

　　"There's no way to set a break like that without an operation，" said the veterinarian who examined Frankie. They would have to haul Frankie out of the woods on an improvised litter and drive him to Round Valley Veterinary Hospital， five miles away.

　　有一天，格倫加德納療養(yǎng)中心的一位老人看見弗蘭基在門旁等瓊，就請小鹿進(jìn)去。中心住著在州立精神病院接受過治療、需要特別照顧的老年人。工作人員一發(fā)現(xiàn)小鹿，就急忙要把它轟走。但是當(dāng)他們看到人們都迫切地伸出手去摸它，就讓小鹿留下了。從此每當(dāng)弗蘭基一出現(xiàn)，到處可見到微笑，連那些平常極少說話的老人也打聽小鹿叫什么名字。

　　一天，弗蘭基發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)工資的窗口前面有人排著隊，它也跟著人們排隊。輪到它時，負(fù)責(zé)發(fā)工資的工作人員盯著它說道，“是啊，弗蘭基，我真想給你張支票，你是我們最好的社會工作者！”

　　暮秋前，弗蘭基在療養(yǎng)中心一直行動自由。直到有一天，中心的主管注意到它開始長角了。中心負(fù)責(zé)人擔(dān)心它會意外傷著住宿的老人，決定禁止它出入。弗蘭基仍常去附近的場地。隨著時光流逝，它去更遠(yuǎn)的田野探索。年滿1歲后的一天傍晚，它沒有回到老年中心的電工室，它開始獨(dú)立生活了。

　　每天早上，弗蘭基依舊來和瓊打招呼，把嘴伸到他口袋里找為他準(zhǔn)備的好吃的東西。午后它再次出現(xiàn)。療養(yǎng)中心那些原來不愿意出來的老人們也開始來到樓前草地搔它的耳朵。喬治是個有語言障礙、不合群的老人，他從不在乎別人是否理解他，但他教會弗蘭基對他的語聲作出反應(yīng)。他們倆經(jīng)常在一起散步。

　　弗蘭基兩歲時，毛色油亮，長著6叉茸角。4月的一個早晨，它沒有露面。誰叫它都沒有回應(yīng)。第二天晚些時候，瓊和喬治發(fā)現(xiàn)它躺在有遮掩的一處地面上，右前腿折斷，露出鋸齒狀的碎骨。

　　“啊，你這個家伙，”瓊喃喃自語。“出了什么事？”弗蘭基的目光因痛苦而混濁。但它聽出瓊的聲音，盡力去舔他的手。

　　給弗蘭基做檢查的獸醫(yī)說，“這樣的骨折，不動手術(shù)沒法接骨。”他們得把弗蘭基用臨時做的擔(dān)架從樹林里抬出來，開車把它送到5英里外圓谷地方的獸醫(yī)院去。

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