 The Italian production company Corona Cinematografica Roma in collaboration with Krátký Film in 1973 co-produced a Czech folk fairy-tale.Štěpánek chose Erben's Jabloňová panna and in the workshops of the Krátký studio created Trnka-esque gothic-style puppets and scenery, to illustrate the climate of Czechoslovakia under the occupying forces.Štěpánek worked for two years at the studio Krátký Film on the film project "The Pied Piper", with more than sixty puppets, and many backgrounds.