The easiest way to tell a story is to retell the events in the order in which they happened and use only the Simple Past or only the Simple Present. If you talk about events that are out of chronological order, you would also need to use the Past Perfect tense. Really skilled writers and narrators can use a much wider variety of tenses to tell a story, but it's an advanced technique. You're much more likely to make an error if you try this before you're ready.

Cut and paste is great! Lol! Generally, stories are written in past tense. You are talking now about something that happened in the past. Simple stories for children can be written in present tense.

In storytelling, different verb tenses can be used depending on the writer's preference and the specific needs of the story. However, the most common verb tense used in storytelling is the past tense. The past tense is often used in storytelling because it creates a sense of distance between the events being described and the present moment, which can help to create a feeling of nostalgia or reflectiveness in the reader. Additionally, the past tense allows the writer to describe events that have already happened and provide a sense of closure to the story. However, it is also common to use a mix of past and present tense in storytelling. For example, present tense might be used to describe action scenes or to create a sense of immediacy, while past tense might be used for descriptive or reflective passages. Ultimately, the choice of tense depends on the writer's personal style and the needs of the story. Some writers prefer to use a consistent tense throughout the story, while others use a mix of tenses to create a particular effect or tone. The most important thing is to choose the tense or tenses that best serve the needs of the story and help to create the desired effect in the reader.

There is no single answer. An author of any fictional work always thinks about "voice" - who is telling the story. That voice can be the author's own voice, or it can be the voice of an invented character. That invented voice has his own past, present, and future. If you are telling a simple story to children, you normally use simple past: "Once upon a time in a kingdom by the sea, there lived a fair princess ..."