Sentence:  After heavy rains and an onslaught of <WSD>mice</WSD> , snow fell on October 15 , 1825 , and remained on the ground through a winter so cold that the ice on the Red was five feet thick . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails