Once upon a time...

[Xing]

Many languages have conventionalised ways of beginning and ending stories:

Once upon a time, there was a little cat [...] And they all lived happily ever after

Wa‘tē

Ko tē ta ‘nepi, ko tē ta wara [...] Ko īra ta wara, ko īra tēra.
PFV FOC DEF time PFV FOC DEF cat [...] PFV be.happy cat PFV be.happy all
'There was the time, there was the cat [...] the cat way happy, all was happy."

[Trailsend]

Hée kuttelistrisára kitsulhári hé [...] Háa lulowzùulhástoste.
hée k<u-ttel<i>st-r:i-s-á>ra kits<u-lh-á-r:i> hé [...] háa l<u-l<o>w-z:ìi-lh-á-st:o>ste
story_goes going<LEAD-forest<FOL.VIA>-CARN:FOL.SG-IMPF-IND> fox<LEAD-ESS-IND-CARN:FOL.SG> [...] look saying<LEAD-manner<INAN.VIA>-ELDER:LEAD.PL-ESS-IND-SOURCE:INAN.SG>
As the story goes, he was going through the forest, that Fox [...] and that is how we elders tell it.


Nonstandard abbreviations:

Spoiler:

LEAD = leading stance
FOL = following stance
VIA = vialis case
CARN = smell trace of a non-competitive predator
ESS = essential aspect

[Ehecatl12]

Rinaki
Siotama Nahwerunki yoyololi makto, kiki seyeze[...]foypom anäncha riyinola, rueriyina
Siotama Na-hwerunki yo-yo-l-ol-i makto, kiki se-ye-ze[...]foy-pom anän-sha ri-yi-n-ol-a, rue-ri-yi-na
back then Pl-ancestors live-PRF when, kiki be[...] 1S-POSS Father-AGT say-PRF-BENE, someone-say-PRF
When the ancestors lived, there was a kiki[...]So my father said, so they said.

[Imralu]

Swahili:

Hapo zamani za kale kulikuwa na paka aliyeitwa ...
hapo zamani z-a kale ku-li-ku-w-a na paka a-li-ye-it-w-a
DEM.16.REF long.ago.times(10) 10-GEN antiquity(9/10) 16-PST-EXT-be-Ø COM cat(9/10) 1-PST-1.REL-call-PASS-Ø
"then/there old-times of antiquity undefined-place-was with cat which-was-called ...
In the old times of antiquity, there was a cat named ...

... wakaishi raha mstarehe
wa-ka-ishi raha mstarehe
2-SUBS-live happiness repose
... and they lived happily and peacefully.

[Dormouse559]

French

Il était une fois un petit chat …
/il e.tɛ.t‿yn fwa œ̃ pti ʃa/
3.NOM.M be-IPF-3SG INDEF.F time INDEF.M little cat
There was once a little cat …

It took me a long time to correctly parse "il était une fois" because it uses an archaic construction for "there was" that, it being archaic, none of my French teachers taught.


… Ils se marièrent et vécurent heureux.
/il sə ma.ʁjɛʁ e ve.kyʁ œ.ʁø/
3.NOM.M{PL} 3.REFL marry-PST.3PL and live-PST.3PL happy
… They married and lived happily.

Or my fecund favorite:

… Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants.
/il sə ma.ʁjɛʁ e yʁ bo.ku dɑ̃.fɑ̃/
3.NOM.M{PL} 3.REFL marry-PST.3PL and have-PST.3PL many of=child{PL}
… They married and had many children.

[Creyeditor]

Es war einmal ...
3SG.N COP.PST.3SG once
Once upon a time, (usually followed by a place and/or time)

Vor langer, langer Zeit lebte einmal ein Prinz
vor lang-er, lang-er Zeit leb-te einmal ein Prinz
ago long-DAT.SG.F, long-DAT.SG.F live-PST.3SG once a prince
A long, long time ago, lived a prince

---

Und sie lebten glücklich bis ans Ende ihrer Tage.
Und sie leb-ten glücklich bis an-s Ende ihr-er Tage.
and 3PL.NOM live-PST.3PL happy untill on-DEF.ACC.SG.N end 3.PL.POSS-3PL.GEN
And they lived happily ever after.

Und wenn sie nicht gestorben sind, dann leben sie noch heute
Und wenn sie nicht ge-storb-en sind, dann leben sie noch heute
and if 3PL.NOM NEG PTCP-die\PTCP-PTCP AUX.PST.3PL, then live-3PL 3PL.NOM still today
And if they did not die, they still live today.

The last one is not really a fairy tale ending, but I recall a lot of stories ending with this phrase when I was child.

Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen.
peace, joy, pancake

[Parlox]

Pod
Ddi ruǵasa ǵósu, y kógón yyuåvuyn sidó… Depukyn by atod vyṭy dan..
[ɖɪ rɯkʼasa kʼɤsɯ i kɤgɤn jɯɑvɯin sɪdɤ dɪpɯkin pʼi atɑd vitʼi dan]
Old time(s)-DEF during, PER small Laozyao there.. tell-IMP multiple 1ST.(plur).NOM how 3RD.NEU.ACC
During the old times, there was a little cat(..) That is how we tell it.

(Just a note, plural pronouns are formed by placing the word "multiple" before them, thus "we" would be "multiple me".