Aesop's Fables without drawing a moral. For many centuries the main transmission of Aesop's fables across Europe remained in Latin or else orally in various vernaculars, where they mixed with folk tales derived from other sources. This mixing is often apparent in early vernacular collections of fables in mediaeval times. The main impetus behind the translation of large collections of fables attributed to Aesop and translated into European languages came from an early printed publication in Germany. There had been many small selections in various languages during the Middle Ages but the first attempt at an exhaustive edition was made by Heinrich
The Sandman: Fables & Reflections is structured as a story within a story (this is a theme to which Gaiman will return in the "" arc). "Convergence" appeared between the "A Game of You" and "Brief Lives" story arcs. The collection also includes the "Sandman Special", retelling the Greek myth of Orpheus, and a brief piece from a Vertigo promotional comic. Because "Fables & Reflections" partakes of so many elements, some believe it lacks the thematic or artistic consistency that is present even in the other short story collections. Perhaps in an effort to make these differences less apparent, DC has shuffled the issues in