Really you are right about this but if a detail was passed through the generations it is in order to learn a lesson from it. Therefore the detail is important to learn the proper lesson.
Did they ever have you try this in school?
Write a short story, maybe 9 or 10 sentences. Get a group of 7-8 people. Tell the story to the first person, have them tell it to the second person, so on and so on. Have the last person write the story down. Compare the original story to the last persons story.
The original question is a simple yes or no.