"Fear of Falling" This is the story from Vertigo Preview #1. This is a very short story, concerning a theatrical author/director who is afraid of the consequences of his new play, be they success or failure. Drawn by Kent Williams.
"Three Septembers and a January" A playful story concerning the (mostly true) history of
Joshua Abraham Norton, first, last and only Emperor of the United States of America. Despair challenges Dream to keep him in his realm for the remainder of his life. While Dream is uninterested, Despair harkens to the memory of their
brother's departure which Despair states was caused by Dream's lack of caring. Neatly dovetailed with his story is an explanation for his strange career centering on a challenge between Morpheus and Desire. The story also ties into Desire's actions in the second collection, ''
The Doll's House''. Drawn by Shawn McManus.
"Thermidor" An altogether darker story set in the heat of the
French Revolution, featuring the character of Lady Johanna Constantine (who first appeared in "Men of Good Fortune") and introducing, briefly, Orpheus. The villains of the story are
Robespierre and
Saint-Just.
Thomas Paine also appears. Penciled by Stan Woch and inked by Dick Giordano.
"The Hunt" A
fairy tale of the East European tradition concerning a young man of 'The People' (
werewolves) who comes to possess a portrait of a beautiful princess. It makes reference to
The Death of Koschei the Deathless and the witch
Baba Yaga. Penciled by Duncan Eagleson and inked by Vince Locke.
"August" Another story concerning a month and concerning the
Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, grand-nephew of
Julius Caesar, set in 7 AD. Morpheus only appears briefly, though plays a pivotal role in the plot. The story also involves the Roman god
Terminus. In the story, Augustus uses the phrase "quick as boiled asparagus", a reference to something Augustus mentioned as saying in
The Twelve Caesars by
Suetonius. Most of the incidents in this story are based on this work. In a flashback to his youth, we are shown that Augustus was routinely raped by Caesar, refusing to fight back as Caesar promised to adopt him as his son and pass rulership of Rome onto to him after his own death. Augustus spent the rest of his life haunted by these traumatic memories until Morpheus visited him and told him to “be a beggar.” From there, Augustus spent one day a year, a time during which the gods of Rome (including, presumably, the deified Julius Caesar) could not glimpse into his plans, disguised as a beggar, begging for coins in the streets of Rome while simultaneously plotting the downfall of Rome as a form of revenge against Caesar.
"Soft Places" A story of
Marco Polo lost in the desert, at a location where the boundary between reality and the Dreaming is malleable. There he encounters
Rustichello of Pisa,
Fiddler's Green, and Morpheus himself, after the latter escapes his captivity in "Preludes and Nocturnes". In their conversation, Fiddler's Green explains the nature of the location (from which the story's eponym derives), and scolds Marco and other explorers/mapmakers for reducing their number. Ultimately, Morpheus returns Marco to his expedition. The story is something of a piece with "Exiles", a story from the tenth collection,
The Wake. Drawn by John Watkiss.
"The Song of Orpheus" This is the central story of the collection, which narrates the Greek myth of
Orpheus; but to the main story, Gaiman adds an interpretation based on his own characters, wherein Morpheus and Calliope are the parents of Orpheus, and his uncle Destruction and aunt Death instruct him to reach the underworld, after the death of his wife
Eurydice. Here, Orpheus' head is kept alive indefinitely after his dismemberment by the
Maenads, and Morpheus' refusal to assist Eurydice's return, estranges him from Calliope (as remarked in
Brief Lives). Penciled by Bryan Talbot and inked by Mark Buckingham.
"The Parliament of Rooks" This story follows Daniel Hall – the child of Hippolyta Hall, first mentioned in Volume Two, ''
The Doll's House, and introduced in Volume Four, Season of Mists'' – as an independent character. Here, Cain, Abel, Eve, Matthew, and Daniel hold a storytelling session, in which are described the three wives of Adam (a story appearing in the
Alphabet of Sirach); how Cain and Abel came to reside in the Dreaming; and the natural phenomenon, the 'parliament of rooks'. Upon conclusion, Daniel returns to his mother. In a series of panels illustrated by
Jill Thompson, the second internal story introduces the so-called "'Lil Endless" characters: renditions of Morpheus and Death as children, which became very popular with fans of the series. Penciled by Jill Thompson and inked by Vince Locke.
"Ramadan" At the beginning of this story, the
Caliph Harun al-Rashid rules over the brilliant city of
Baghdad, but is troubled by the impermanence of its perfection, and offers Baghdad to Morpheus, if Morpheus will preserve it for ever. After the deal is completed, Harun awakes in a far more dreary version of Baghdad, with no memory of its previous fantastical nature. The story ends with an abrupt shift to
war-torn modern-day Baghdad, where an old man tells this tale to a young child in exchange for money and cigarettes. The implication is made that the legendary Baghdad is preserved in legend, and therefore immortal. This tale contains numerous references to the
One Thousand and One Nights, the famous collection of Middle Eastern fables; and it is implied that these are meant to preserve Baghdad. Drawn by P. Craig Russell, coloured by Lovern Kinzierski and Digital Chameleon. ==Issues collected==