tale/tel; teIl/n [C] a story about things that happened long ago, or things that may not have really happened 故事﹔传闻: a book of fairy tales (=children's stories in which magical things happen) 童话书old Japanese folk tales (=traditional stories from a country) 日本古老民间故事+of/about Roger was always telling tales about life in the army. 罗杰总是说军队里的生活轶闻。see box at见 STORY 方框OLD WIVES’ TALE