It is said that there is wisdom in common sayings. This is indeed true, and sometimes in a subtle way. Consider a common saying about surviving danger, which I've heard in two similar versions:

"I've gone to <whatever> and lived to tell the tale."

"I've faced <whatever> and lived to tell about it."

Both refer to surviving a dangerous experience (which can be anything from a visit to the principal's office to touring the fires of Hades), and coming back to share the experience. Note that neither form is complete without the "tale". Which is my point. People who are killed in a dangerous enterprise may be fabled in song and story, but that's a different saying. People who survive and keep mum are dismissed out of hand -- the implication is that anyone who manages to return intact will automatically want to regale their comrades with all the gory details. And it's true. People who have survived something impressive do want to share their experience. And people want to hear about it.

The telling of tales is wired deep into our psyches -- it is one of the things that distinguishes us from other animals. It's one of the social forces that binds our societies together. Norse sagas and travelling minstrels that made their living sharing epic stories are obvious examples. Which shed further light on the subject -- the tales need not be true. The example above of Hades doesn't fit into many peoples' personal views of the world, but they still enjoy the stories. Similarly, many would dismiss the Norse sagas as "mythological", not having a basis in truth. But they're still engaging stories, and we still appreciate them. Even the story of Noah stands on its own as a good yarn, and there is evidence^[1] that the original version was the work of a good storyteller who had survived an unusually intense version of the seasonal Nile flood.