Yeki Bud Yeki Nabud

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Yeki Bud Yeki Nabud (Persian: یکی بود یکی نبود, lit. 'Once Upon a Time') is a collection of short stories written in 1921 by Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh. Its publication made Jamalzadeh a major figure in the Persian literature.

The literal translation of the phrase Yeki Bud Yeki Nabud (Once Upon a Time) is One Was There and One Was Not There, or There Was One and There Wasn't One, alluding to an indefinite time and place. Opening a story by Yeki Bud Yeki Nabud prepares the hearers (especially those of very young age) or readers that what they are about to hear or read is not necessarily true.