How not to be a writer #11: Tell, not show your story

This lady will tell you that a story told, not shown is off-putting. How do you describe the sky without saying a variation of blue color, or pink, or purple, or even pink and green? Tell that it's a sunflower without saying it's yellow.

Or the soft twinkling sounds of wind chimes when it's moving among the wind. Suppose a stranger finds himself walking on a path with all these things. These descriptions help shape a mood that help or contrast the story's true mood. Suppose the stranger is about to confront something terrible. Do you want to heighten the drama of the event?

Let's tell a part of a story.

We see  a stranger walking briskly on a path to his destination. It is a calm day, a day like any other day. He knows he has to face his enemy from his childhood. He paid no attention to the nature around him, and if he did, he might have taken comfort in them. All he thought was about the enemy who bullied and abused him as a child, as a teenager, and as a man.

He walked briskly, one hand in his pocket. in his pocket is a knife, prepped for the killing of his enemy or tormented him for so long. His eyes seeing only red with anger.

--- Now, suppose, we show the story ---

Our eyes drew to the stranger walking down a light brown path, surrounded by flowers of different colors--yellow, blue, pink. The midday sun dried up the dew around him. As he traveled on, he did not give attention to the windchimes of a small house almost hidden behind a cluster of bushes.  A butterfly scutted from one flower to another.

The man put his hand into his pocket, feeling the long blade in its scabbard.  He took a deep breath through his nose and out his mouth in a slow, measured way. He stared ahead, walking as fast as he could without raising suspicion by the house he is passing by. The stranger's face is taut with tension, his eyebrows furrowed together in deep rage, teeth grinding together as he recalled the torment his enemy caused him all his life.

"You will never amount to anything, stupid child," his uncle said, and gave a swift kick to his ribs as the child curled up on the ground, trying to protect himself.

"You are a fool! Destroying my farm with the fire!" he said, delivering a blow to the teenager's face.

"Do you really think you deserve any pay after what you did? You are never going to earn a living!" his uncle roared at the younger man. "A fool, like I always said you were!"


---

So, which one sounds more interesting? You tell me. Or, rather, show me. To not be a storyteller, to not be a writer, tell us and your story will be dry.