Twelve Thousand Head of Cattle (Romanian: Douăsprezece mii de capete de vite) is a 1952 novella by the Romanian writer Mircea Eliade. It was written in Paris in December 1952 and published in 1963 in Nuvele, printed by Cercul de Studii "Destin" of Madrid.^[1] It was translated by Eric Tappe in Fantastic Tales, London, Dillon’s, 1969.^[2]

The subject of this novella is a strange time travel of a cattle dealer on a street in Bucharest during the Second World War. After a civil defense siren announces the imminence of an air raid, Iancu Gore is hiding in an anti-aircraft shelter. Also in the shelter are three other people. Later Iancu Gore learns that they died more than a month ago. His disturbing experience is not believed by anyone.