once upon a time, there was

érase una vez

once upon a time, there was(wuhns uh-pan uh taym thehr wuhz)

phrase

1.

(literary)

(used to introduce a story)

a. érase una vez

Once upon a time, there was a farm boy named Jack.

Érase una vez un chico de granja llamado Jack.

b. había una vez

Once upon a time, there was a puppet who wanted to be a real boy.

Había una vez un títere que quería ser un chico real.