Ah yes, "exacting young man debunks charming tale with touching moral, to the benefit of nobody". A tale as old as time.
I don't know what irked you about the other comment, but I think there's a positive side to it.
Oh, but it does.
Here's "a thing that happened" vs "here's a tall tale" means whatever message is approached very differently.
Better to know up front that a tale is only a parable.
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.