a spoken account of someone’s experiences, especially when they are made to seem more exciting or unpleasant than they really weretale of/about: He entertained us with tales of his adventures during the war.
be full of tales about something: She was full of tales about the places she’d been to.
a tale of woe (=a story about unpleasant things that have happened to you): Every teacher has their tale of woe to tell.