Setup Mule web server and REST to SOAP proxy

Setup Mule web server and REST to SOAP proxy

I'm new to Mule and am trying to setup a web server [in Mule] to "replace"
an existing Java server - which simply proxies for a SOAP web service. So:
Web client (js/html) requests a static resource
Mule Server must return the static resource
or
Web client uses Jquery Ajax (json) request with path starting with "api/"
Mule Server must forward the request to the Java server (to use the old API)
or
Web client uses Jquery Ajax request with path starting with "sapi/"
Mule Server must translate the request to XML and call the SOAP server
(for new api calls)
I'm struggling to find a good starting point:
I've played with Ajax connectors (and end-points) and can get the static
content served - but not sure where to go with the api calls (don't want
to force the client app to use mule.js)
I've played with HTTP end points, and I can't get the static content
served (implicit Content-Type issue)
Any help will be appreciated...