Episode 101 : The Mighty Megalosaurus Earl tells Baby the story of his birth . Fran has one wish in life : a new set of pots and pans with mesh screens for lids - - the better to keep dinner in the pot ! Earl realizes that he can ' t afford to take care of his family , so he asks his boss , B . P . Richfield , for a raise , with disastrous results . A chance meeting with the escaped " dinner " inspires Earl to appreciate his role as head of the household . But a new family member is about to turn the Sinclairs ' life upside down . . . Story . Baby Sinclair demands that his father Earl tell him a story . Earl begins : " Once upon a time , dinosaurs didn ' t have families . They lived in the woods , and they ate their children , and it was a golden age . " He adds that one day , mommy and daddy dinosaurs started to get married , live in houses , and have children , thinking that the way they used to live was wrong . Earl reassures Baby that he ' s in this story , but it starts just before he was born . Earl describes a frustrating night in the Sinclair household , which begins with their dinner escaping from the pot and running out of the house , right past Earl . His wife Fran asks Earl to buy her a special pot with a lid on it , so that she can keep dinner from taking off . Daughter Charlene wants a sweater , and son Robbie needs a tutor . Earl knows that all of this will cost just as much as the thing he really wants - - a 90 - inch television set . At work , Earl compains to his friend Roy Hess that all of the money that he makes ends up being spent on his family . Roy suggests that Earl ask their boss , B . P . Richfield , for a raise . Furious , Richfield demands Earl ' s resignation . Earl comes home to break the bad news to his family - - and learns that Fran has just laid an egg , bringing another mouth to feed into the family . Depressed , Earl leaves the house . Earl goes back to the forest , wondering if dinosaurs were right about starting families and living in houses . Earl encounters a small mammal - - the same creature who ' d escaped being his dinner the previous night . The creature introduces himself as Arthur Rizzic , and he surprises Earl by asking to be eaten . Somebody ' s knocked down his tree , and he doesn ' t know where his family is . He has nothing to live for , so he might as well get eaten . Earl points out that without his family , Arthur is free to live as he pleases . He describes how his family got him fired from the one job that he was ever good at - - and the thought makes him so angry that he pushes down a tree . Arthur realizes that Earl was the one who ' s knocked down the trees , and Earl says that he did Arthur a favor . However , Arthur has a different perspective . If he was a big , powerful dinosaur , then everybody would appreciate him , but since he isn ' t , his family were the only ones to appreciate him . Earl prepares to eat Arthur , but has a change of heart and sets him free . Left alone , Earl realizes that life in the forest isn ' t so great - - and then Fran shows up , to bring him home . The next day , Earl begs Richfield for his job back - - and he ' s surprised to find that Arthur Rizzic is Richfield ' s new assistant . Arthur winks at Earl , and puts him down for a raise in salary . Earl comes home with a new appreciation for himself as the head of the household . At this moment , the Baby hatches out of his egg , and greets his new family . Earl isn ' t the most important person in the family anymore . . .