It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship told the boatswain, “Tell me a tale.” And this was the tale he told him:
It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship told the boatswain, “Tell me a tale.” And this was the tale he told him:
It was a dark and stormy night and ….

●　tellが使われ過ぎてると思ったら例えばsaid to the boatswainに。