Musnad Ahmad 962:117

Muhammad narrated to us, Shu'bah narrated to us, from Abu al-Tayyah, who said: I heard Abu al-Ja'd narrating from Abu Umamah, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out to a storyteller who was telling stories, so he stopped. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Tell your story, for that I sit from the early morning until the sun rises is more beloved to me than that I free four slaves. And [that I sit] after the afternoon prayer until the sun sets is more beloved to me than that I free four slaves."