Comment by dxdm

> Here's "a thing that happened" vs "here's a tall tale" means whatever message is approached very differently.

I agree. I meant to point out that tales can be entertaining and/or instructional, too, even while we're aware of what they are. ("Knowing that a story is fictional does not take away from it", maybe I should've written that.)

My point still stands, though: knowing a tale from a "thing that happened" is important, and what you said underscores why.