a tale never loses in the telling
A story is typically embellished, exaggerated, and added to with each retelling. A: "I've heard Tim tell his fishing story countless times, and each time he tells it the fish gets bigger and harder to catch." B: "No surprise. A tale never loses in the telling."
tale never loses in the telling
Prov. When people tell stories, they tend to exaggerate. Johnny's bicycle accident tale never loses in the telling; he convinced his friends that four semi trucks had been involved, when in fact he only ran into one parked car.