When I was a kid, I loved reading simplified stories for children based on Rumi’s poetry. My favorite stories were Moses and the Shepherd, The Merchant and the Parrot, The People Arguing Over Grapes, and The King and the Handmaiden. These stories were funny and engaging, though some in the original text for the adults felt a bit deep or even forbidden for a child.
As I grew older, I realized these stories were from Rumi’s Masnavi, a collection of poems filled with deep meanings. Rumi was clever! like a tree spreading seeds through the sweetness of its fruit, he used these stories to draw readers in, planting ideas that would reveal their full meaning as I grew older. It’s not about saying he made me wise, but he had a way of planting thoughts that grew and deepened over time.
