Sentence:  Day broke. He saw three black hens asleep in a tree. He shuddered, horrified at this <WSD>omen</WSD>. Then he promised the Holy Virgin three chasubles for the church, and that he would go barefooted from the cemetery at Bertaux to the chapel of Vassonville. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Something which portends or is perceived to portend a good or evil event or circumstance in the future; an augury or foreboding.