Αν δεν φυσάει αρκετά, ο χαρταετός δεν ανεβαίνει ψηλά, κι έτσι το παιδί αφήνει το πατίνι και τρέχει προς τη μαμά του.

It is a normal, open condition: If it isn’t blowing enough...

In Greek, αν introduces the condition. Here the verb is in the present tense because the sentence describes a general situation or a scene happening now, not a hypothetical past event.

A very literal pattern is:

Αν + present, present
If + present, present

So:

• Αν δεν φυσάει αρκετά, ο χαρταετός δεν ανεβαίνει ψηλά.
• If it isn’t blowing enough, the kite doesn’t go up high.

Greek often uses the present this way for general truths, habits, or picture-description style narration.

Greek often omits subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

With weather verbs, English uses it:

• It blows
• It rains

Greek usually does not need that dummy subject:

• φυσάει = it blows / it is windy
• βρέχει = it rains

So δεν φυσάει αρκετά means it isn’t blowing enough or there isn’t enough wind.

Yes. φυσάει is the 3rd person singular present of φυσάω / φυσώ, meaning to blow.

In this sentence it refers to the wind:

• φυσάει = it blows / it’s blowing

You may also come across slightly different present forms depending on style and verb pattern, but φυσάει is completely normal Modern Greek.

Also, αρκετά here means enough / sufficiently, so:

• δεν φυσάει αρκετά = it’s not blowing enough

Greek uses the definite article much more regularly than English. When talking about a specific thing in the situation, Greek usually includes it:

• ο χαρταετός = the kite
• το παιδί = the child
• το πατίνι = the scooter

In a sentence like this, the kite and the child are understood as specific, visible participants in the scene, so the article is natural and expected.

Literally, χαρταετός is made from:

• χαρτί = paper
• αετός = eagle

So historically it is something like paper eagle, which is the Greek word for kite.

This is a nice example of how Greek compounds can look very different from the English word even when the meaning is simple.

ανεβαίνει means goes up / rises / climbs.
ψηλά is an adverb, meaning high.

So:

• δεν ανεβαίνει ψηλά = it doesn’t go up high

This is important:

• ψηλός / ψηλή / ψηλό = high / tall as an adjective
• ψηλά = high as an adverb

Compare:

• ένα ψηλό βουνό = a high mountain
• πετάει ψηλά = it flies high

So ψηλά is used because it modifies the verb ανεβαίνει, not a noun.

κι έτσι means and so / so / as a result.

The word κι is a shortened form of και. It is very common in natural Greek, especially before a vowel sound, as in έτσι.

So:

• και έτσι and κι έτσι both exist
• κι έτσι sounds more natural and flowing here

In this sentence, it links cause and result:

• not enough wind
• the kite does not rise high
• κι έτσι = so / therefore
• the child leaves the scooter and runs to his/her mom

Yes. The present tense in Greek is very common for:

1. describing a scene
2. narrating what is happening
3. stating a habitual or typical result

So:

• αφήνει = leaves
• τρέχει = runs

This can feel like a picture-book or storytelling present: we are watching the action happen.

It does not have to mean repeated action only. It can simply make the scene vivid and immediate.

Because in Greek, grammatical gender and natural gender are not always the same thing.

παιδί means child and is grammatically neuter:

• το παιδί

That does not mean the child is not male or female in real life. It just means the noun itself belongs to the neuter gender class.

Greek does this with many nouns. You have to learn the gender of the noun as part of the word.

προς means toward(s), so it emphasizes direction.

• τρέχει προς τη μαμά του = he/she runs toward his/her mom

If you used σε / στη, the meaning would be more like to or to/at, depending on context.
προς is a good choice when the movement itself and the direction are important.

So here it paints the scene clearly: the child is moving toward the mother.

Both are connected to the same article:

• full form: την
• shorter spoken/written form before many consonants: τη

In everyday Modern Greek, τη is extremely common before a consonant:

• τη μαμά
• τη φίλη
• τη μέρα

So προς τη μαμά του is perfectly normal and natural.

You will still see την in more careful writing, in some fixed styles, or when speakers/writers prefer the full form. But τη μαμά is standard everyday Greek.

Because του here does not agree with μαμά. It refers to the owner/related person: the child.

So:

• το παιδί = the child
• η μαμά του = his mom / its mom / the child’s mom

The possessive word του here means his / its in form, but with το παιδί it often works naturally as his/her, depending on context. Greek often uses these genitive pronouns in ways that follow the grammatical form of the possessor.

So the structure is:

• η μαμά του παιδιού = the child’s mom
• shortened in normal speech to η μαμά του

It is about whose mom, not about the gender of mom.

Usually yes. In Modern Greek, πατίνι commonly means scooter, especially the kind a child rides.

Depending on context, older uses could relate to wheeled play or skating items, but in a sentence like this, the most natural understanding is scooter.

So:

• αφήνει το πατίνι = the child leaves/drops the scooter

This fits the rest of the scene very well.