"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) in storytelling in the English language and has started many narratives since 1600. These stories sometimes end with "and they all lived happily ever after", or, originally, "happily until their deaths". The phrase is common in fairy tales for younger children. It was used in the original translations of the stories of Charles Perrault as a translation for the French "", of Hans Christian Andersen as a translation for the Danish "", (literally "there was once"), the Brothers Grimm as a translation for the German "" (literally "it was once") and Joseph Jacobs in English translations and fairy tales. The phrase is also used in retellings of myths, fables and folklore. Other languages The "story-starting phrase" is a common feature of many languages. {| class="wikitable collapsible" ! scope="col" | Language ! scope="col" | Common beginning ! scope="col" | Common beginning (English translation) ! scope="col" | Common ending ! scope="col" | Common ending (English translation) |- ! scope="row" | Albanian | || Once there was... | || And they lived happy forever |- ! scope="row" | Afrikaans | || One day, a long time ago... | || Whistle, whistle, the story is done |- ! scope="row" | Moroccan Arabic | () || I've told you what's coming | وخبيرتي مشات من واد لواد وانا بقيت مع الناس الجواد || And my tale went from valley to valley and I remained with the good people. |- ! scope="row" | Amharic | ||Once a long time ago... | || Return my story and feed me bread.(It is a way of saying tell me a story for the one I have told you.) |- ! scope="row" | Classical Arabic | () | There was, oh what there was (or there wasn't) in the oldest of days and ages and times... | توتة توتة خلصت الحدوتة حلوة ولا ملتوتة || the tale has finished, sweet/nice and not twisted |- ! scope="row" | Armenian (Eastern) | () || There was, there was not... | ()|| 3 apples fall from the sky/heaven - one for the writer/author, one for the storyteller, one for the listener Note: (the three apples can "be given" to different people, when people