(she had become like they are)
"But Hsi Wang Mu was not always the goddess of eternal life. Long ago, she was thought to be the bringer of plague and sickness. She was said to have wild black hair, the savage teeth of a tiger, and the long tail of a leopard. Her only companions were three strange, green birds who flew across the world of humans to find food for her and bring it back to her dark and lonely cave. No one knows how Hsi Wang Mu changed from goddess of death to a goddess of life, but now she is remembered especially for her wonderful orchard of peaches."
--- Book of Goddesses, Kris Waldherr