One day the two daughters of the King of Meath, named Ethna and
Fedalma, went down to the river to bathe, and there they beheld St.
Patrick and his band of converts all draped in white robes, for they
were celebrating morning prayers. And the princesses seeing strange men
in white garments thought they were of the race of the male fairies,
the _Daine-Sidhe_. And they questioned them. Then St. Patrick expounded
the truth to them, and the maidens asked him many questions: “Who is
your God? Is He Handsome? Are His daughters as handsome as we are? Is
He rich? Is He young or aged? Is He to die, or does He live for ever?”
Now St. Patrick having satisfied them on all these points the maidens,
Ethna and Fedalma, were baptized, and became zealous workers for the
Christian cause.