to narrate (a story, etc.) to (someone): [~ + object] He told a story to the children.[~ + object + object] He told the children a story. [no object] The story tells of the legend of King Arthur.
The meaning of TELL is to relate in detail : narrate. How to use tell in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Tell.
Sense group 1 is now most often found with words bearing a sense of ability, such as "can tell" or "one way to tell". For many of the senses of tell, the word show would have a contrasting meaning, and in other senses, it would have a nearly identical meaning.