Dear David A. Thomas,
The 8 lines from The Prodigal Son at the beginning of chapter 5 of Kim are
by Kipling himself. A six-stanza version of the poem, headed <("Enlarged
from Kim")> is printed on pp 579 - 560 of the 1940 Definitive Edition of
Rudyard Kipling's Verse, and probably appears in earlier Inclusive Editions
of his verse. I don'tt know when he wrote the full version. The expanded
version (too long to type out with two fingers, I'm afraid) is headed <THE
PRODIGAL SON / WESTERN VERSION / (Enlarged from "Kim")>. It is about the son
of a wealthy family who, after losing his money abroad, has spent his time
away from home working with pigs in the (Chicago ?) "Yards", and is going
back there because his brother "sulks and despises" him and the family
servants regard him as "a monster of depravity".
Yours sincerely
George Engle
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