A Short Story read after 2000, seemed to be written much earlier. A German scientist is living in America. He talks a lot to a mouse in his house who he catches, and keeps in a cage. He calls the mouse Mickey after Disney's famous creation. He builds a tiny rocket to be the first to fly to the moon. He sends the mouse up in the rocket and watches through his telescope.
The project seems to have failed completely. Contact with the rocket is lost, long before it would have reached the moon.
The rocket has been intercepted by intelligent beings living on a tiny planetoid. The planetoid was, many years ago, painted in non reflecting paint. After being moved, it could no longer be seen by the inhabitants evil enemies. Of course, it cannot be seen from Earth either.
The aliens living on the planetoid are much smaller than the mouse, and far more intelligent than human beings. They have had an advanced civilisation for millions of years. They are worried that at some point in the future humanity might become a danger to them.
The aliens decide to use a machine to increase Mickey the mouse's intelligence. Not to their level, only to make him as clever as the stupid humans. The machine helps the mouse remember everything the scientist said to him and hence learn English. They modify his vocal chords.
The aliens' plan is than by increasing the intelligence of mice, the two equally intelligent species on Earth will fight each other and be less of a future problem for the aliens.
They send Mickey home with a machine he can use to increase the intelligence of all his fellow mice. They warn him to avoid electricity as his recently enhanced brain could be damaged by it.
Mickey flies back to Earth in his rocket. He scares the wits out of a drunk by speaking to him. The man never drinks again.
He finds his old scientist friend and proposes a treaty with humanity. The mice should be given Australia. All the mice will be captured, made intelligent and move to Australia. They will also slay all of their old enemies the rats. There being no rats will be a great boon to humanity.
The scientist has his doubts but offers to tell humanity about the offer. Mickey goes to use the intelligence increasing machine on his wife. He accidentally gets an electric shock and becomes just an ordinary dumb mouse once more.