Episode 313 : Getting to Know You After Earl throws her a disastrous birthday party , Charlene feels totally alienated from her whole family and signs up for a Species Exchange Program at school . She lives with a family of squawking , arrogant , annoying , bird - like creatures , and runs away . In exchange , the Sinclairs ' get a teenaged version of this hideous species . Pushed to the edge , the Baby eats the exchange student . Earl creates a fake kid and returns it to the family , and then discovers that he ' s brought home a Charlene impostor . When the real Charlene returns , father and daughter make a pact to get to know one another better . Story . It ' s Charlene ' s birthday , and Fran is sick , so Earl throws Charlene a birthday party , which includes inviting his co - workers , playing poker , and giving Charlene presents that she doesn ' t really want . She is disappointed with the way her so - called " party " has turned out , and it makes her feel even worse that her mother knitted her a sweater , instead of buying the sweater at the mall which she had been wanting . At school , Charlene complains to Mindy that her parents don ' t seem to know her , and she decides to join an exchange program so that she can live with a new family . When Fran informs Earl that Charlene is leaving , he doubts that she is really planning on leaving . Even when he sees that Charlene ' s suitcases aren ' t empty and that she gets on a bus which doesn ' t stop , Earl thinks that she ' s just pretending , and doesn ' t start to believe that she ' s gone until a few days after she ' s left . In Charlene ' s place , the Sinclairs have to take care of Francois Poupon , a rude bird with a French accent . Charlene finds it uncomfortable living with the Poupons , who live in a tree ( which she barely fits inside ) . The French bird couple get their kicks from insulting Charlene and her culture , and watching movies on TV which star a Jerry Lewis - like dinosaur . Her only sleeping place is a branch ( where Francois usually sleeps ) , but she accidentally breaks it off , and suffers a marathon of the Poupons ' endless squawks . Meanwhile , Francois ' constant insults , demands and squawking annoys the Sinclairs . Earl and Fran leave Francois alone with Baby , who gets into an argument with Francois . In the kitchen , Fran expresses a desire to kill all birds of Francois ' kind , and Earl is surprised that he ' s hearing these racist thoughts from her . Soon , Fran and Earl notice that Francois is no longer squawking . When they come back to the living room , they find that Francois is no longer there . When the Baby hiccups , feathers fly out of his mouth . Fran tells Earl that they have to call Francois ' parents and tell them the bad news , but Earl chooses not to , instead disguising a small creature as Francois . When Earl brings home Charlene , it turns out to be an impostor as well . The Poupons come to the Sinclair home to discuss where their children are . Henri Poupon informs them that Charlene didn ' t like it there , and ran away . When Henry and his wife , Simone , find out that the Baby ate Francois , they decide that a big screen TV would make up for it . Charlene comes home , admitting that the Poupons were a worse family than hers . Earl apologizes for ruining her birthday party , and for not knowing her well , and they decide to start hanging out together .