Ding

"fire"

- Eeh, yeow! Aw, dang blame it! What? Can't you see I'm busy? Got a full moon rising. And why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old.

Old Man Ding was a resident of a small Fire Nation village. This kooky old codger was the only person in the village who managed to escape the "moon monster" that captured people when they went out into the woods during the full moon.

History
When Aang, Sokka and Toph inquired some information about the spirit that had been abducting the village people, a traveling townsman redirected them toward "Old Man Ding", stating that he was the only one to have ever seen it and lived. According to Ding, he was walking in the woods one night when he felt an odd sensation come over him; he couldn't even control his own limbs. As he got close to the mouth of a cave, he looked up at the moon for what he thought would be his last glimpse of light. Suddenly, the sun started to come out, and he was immediately released from the "spirit's" grip and high-tailed out of there as quick as he could. Since his narrow escape, he prepared for each full moon by boarding up his home and taking refuge. It was later revealed by Aang and the gang that it was not a spirit, but Hama Bloodbending him.

His ultimate fate after the War is unknown.

Trivia

 * Ding (丁, dīng) is a traditional southern Chinese surname and one of the Hundred Family Surnames. It is also the simplest family name, being composed of only two strokes.
 * Ding was about 67 years old.
 * Among the 60 year old characters in the series, Old Man Ding was shown to be the physically weakest of all, having trouble lifting up a wooden board, while others were usually shown to be master benders and physically strong, or had average strength.
 * Ding did not understand why people always called him "old man;" but when he failed to lift the wooden board he admitted that he at least was "young at heart".