Here her efforts were equally vain, for the grill was formed of stout bamboos secured with ratan cane, bound at the intersections, and so strong, that without a powerful edge-tool even a stout-hearted man might well have given up the task in despair.
"One Maid's Mischief"
George Manville Fenn
Great thorns hooked and clung to their clothes; ratan canes wound across and across their way, tripping them up, so that again and again they fell heavily; while the dense undergrowth rose up constantly like a wall of verdure, as impenetrable as some monstrous hedge.
"One Maid's Mischief"
George Manville Fenn
He had to cook his own meals, which he used to share with ratan, an orphan girl of the village, who did odd jobs for him.
"Stories from Tagore"
Rabindranath Tagore