<DIV><I>The Osage Orange Tree,</I> a never-before-published story by William Stafford, is about shy, young love complicated by misunderstanding and the insecurity of adolescence, set against the backdrop of poverty brought on by the Great Depression.<BR><BR>In the story, the narrator recalls a girl he once knew. He and Evangeline, both shy, never find the courage to speak to each other in high school. Every evening, however, Evangeline meets him at the Osage orange tree on the edge of her property. He delivers a newspaper to her, and they talk?and as the year progresses a secret friendship blossoms. Evangeline is absent on graduation day, and the narrator learns that Evangeline has used the money meant for her graduation dress to buy the newspapers from him all year.</DIV>