A. J Arberry 
Tales from the Masnavi [PDF ebook] 

The Masnavi of Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273), a massive poem of some 25, 000 rhyming couplets, by common consent ranks among the world’s greatest masterpieces of religious literature. The material which makes up the Masnavi is divisible into two different categories: theoretical discussion of the principal themes of Sufi mystical life and doctrine, and stories of fables intended to illustrarte those themes as they arise. This selection of tales is the most accessible introduction to this giant epic for the non-perisan reader.