Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors.

Also known as “The Lame Fox,” this Serbian fairy tale collected by Andrew Lang in his Gray Fairy Book relates a father and his three sons, two of which are intelligent, and one of which is… not intelligent. After noticing that their father has one eye that is laughing and one eye that is always weeping, they decide to ask, in succession, why their father’s eyes are like that—he throws a fit at the older two, but answers the youngest, which sets off the quest that introduces readers to the aforementioned fox.

A real condition called heterochromia iridum presents often as a difference in the iris colors between one eye and the other. It’s a relatively rare condition, but with enough celebrities romping around having their pictures taken by creepy paparazzi, it’s no surprise that many have been discovered, including Mila Kulis (pictured above). She, like many others, have different levels of melanin in each iris. Oftentimes, this condition is caused by a genetic chimerism.

Chicago-based Rebecca Schoenecker is a bit of a chimerism herself, albeit not a genetic one (as far as I can tell)—she operates both a band and a Tarot card-reading operation under the guise of Laughing Eye Weeping Eye. With an organ, a ukelin, and a turkish spike fiddle all in the mix during live shows (no word about foxes, lame or completely healthy), there’s definitely a little bit of fairyland at play here, although if you ask why their band is named as it is, I can’t guarantee that they, like the smiling/crying-eyed father, won’t go into a rage.

This edition of Fairy-Tale Files is brought to you by Fairy Tale Review Managing Editor Joel Hans.