The Persian poet Rumi, who wrote in the 13th Century, has become increasingly popular today. This selection comes from his monumental work, The Mathnawi—perhaps the longest mystical poem ever written, containing 24,000 verses in rhyming couplets. Thanks to E.H. Whinfield’s translation and commentary, these tales—filled with Sufi wisdom, insight, and humor—are wonderfully accessible to a wide audience.